Background In Spring 2020 there was a change in organ donation legislation in England (UK). Much is known about public opinions to organ donation and the change in legislation, however, there is little evidence about the opinions of the NHS workforce. This study set out to understand the levels of awareness, support and action of NHS staff to this change and explore the impact of respondent demographics, place and type of work on awareness, support and action. Methods An online survey was offered to all NHS organisations in North Thames and the North East and North Cumbria through the NIHR Clinical Research Network between July and December 2020. Participating organisations were provided with an information package and promoted the survey via email and internal staff communications. Associations were compared univariately using chi-square tests and logistic regression was used for multivariable analysis to compare findings with NHS Blood and Transplant public Kantar survey data. Results A total of 5789 staff participated in the survey. They were more aware, more supportive, more likely to have discussed their organ donation choices with family and more likely to be on the organ donor register than the public. This increased awareness and support was found across minority ethnic and religious groups. Those working in a transplanting centre were most aware and supportive and those working in the ambulance service were most likely to ‘opt-in’ following the change in legislation. Conclusions NHS staff in England were well informed about the change in organ donation legislation and levels of support were high. NHS staff were six times more likely than the public to have a conversation with their family about their organ donation choices. The size and ethnic diversity of the NHS workforce offers an opportunity to enable and support NHS staff to be advocates for organ donation and raise awareness of the change in legislation amongst their communities.
BackgroundIn Spring 2020 there was a change in organ donation legislation in England (UK). Whilst much is known about public opinions to organ donation and the change in legislation, there is little evidence about the opinions of the NHS workforce. This study was set up to understand the levels of awareness, support and action of NHS staff to this change and to explore the impact of respondent demographics, place and type of work on support, awareness and action.MethodsAn online survey was offered to all NHS organisations in North Thames and the North East and North Cumbria through the NIHR Clinical Research Network between July and December 2020. Participating organisations were provided with an information package and promoted the survey via email and internal staff communications. Analysis was completed using Statistical Analysis Systems software with differences in categorical variables compared using Chi-squared tests.ResultsA total of 5789 staff participated in the survey. NHS staff respondents were supportive of the change in organ donation legislation; this support was most prominent in the Ambulance Service, but found in all sections of the NHS. Across almost all demographic variables, NHS staff were more aware of the change in legislation than the General Public. NHS staff respondents were much more likely to already be on the organ donation register, more likely to have had a conversation with partner/family and less likely to have registered a decision not to donate than the General Public.ConclusionsNHS staff were more aware, supportive and more likely to have taken positive action around the change in organ donation legislation, even across religious and minority ethnic groups. The size and ethnic diversity of the NHS workforce offers huge opportunity to enable and support NHS staff to be community advocates for organ donation and to raise awareness of the change in legislation amongst their communities.Study registrationThe study involved NHS staff and did not require full ethical approval. It was reviewed and approved by a Health Research Authority assessor. IRAS number: 275992
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