Emergency Medical Staffs’ Knowledge and Attitude About Organ Donation After Cardiac Death

Abstract

Background: Adverse attitudes and insufficient knowledge about organ donation after cardiac death among emergency staffs can have important consequences for the proper identification of potential donors, constant application of donation after cardiac death policies, and the relative strength of support for this type of donation. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the awareness and attitude of emergency personnel about organ donation after cardiac death.Methods: This descriptive study was carried out with the participation of 49 physicians and 145 nurses working in the emergency departments of educational and medical centers of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. Nurses were selected by simple random sampling, and all physicians working in the emergency departments were included in the study. The questionnaire of Knowledge and Attitude regarding Organ Donation after Cardiac Death designed by Rodrigue et al. was used. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and independent samples t-test, one-way ANOVA, and chi-square test.Results: Most of the nurses (62.8%) and physicians (66.7%) had high level of knowledge about organ donation after cardiac death. The mean attitude score was 101.84 (SD: 9.88) out of 170 for nurses and 106.53 (SD: 11.77) for physicians. Physicians who had organ donation card had a more positive attitude toward organ donation after cardiac death.Conclusion: According to this study findings, knowledge and attitude of the emergency staffs about organ donation was high and positive. It is recommended to devise necessary guidelines for organ donation in Iranian emergency departments to help the personnel for introducing qualified people for organ donation or taking the necessary measures.