Attitudes Toward Organ Donation and Sense of Compassion in Nursing Students

Abstract

This descriptive type of study was conducted on students studying in the nursing department to determine the relationship between their attitudes toward organ donation and their sense of compassion. Data were collected for students’ sociodemographic characteristics, the Organ Donation Attitude Scale (ODAS), and the compassion scale. The mean age of the participants was 20.40 ± 1.87, 79.7% were female, and 92.8% stated that the kidney could be donated. A very weak negative relationship was found between ODAS positive attitude and negative attitude scores. Between ODAS positive attitudes and the subscales of the compassion scale, it was determined that there was a significant positive correlation with kindness, a weak negative correlation with indifference, a weak positive correlation with common humanity, a weak negative correlation with separation, a weak positive correlation with mindfulness, and a weak negative correlation with disengagement. Nursing students’ organ donation attitudes are affected by compassion.