Evaluation of Knowledge About and Attitudes Towards Kidney Transplantation in Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis Treatment

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:The aim of the present study was to evaluate hemodialysis (HD) patients' knowledge about and attitudes towards Kidney Transplantation (KT). MATERIAL and METHODS:A total of 104 HD patients from two HD centers in a large city in central Turkey were included in this descriptive study. The questionnaire that was developed by researchers included questions on sociodemographic data and dialysis vintage, level of satisfaction resulting from HD treatment, willingness to undergo KT, knowledge about KT and choice of donor, etc. RESULTS:The mean age of the 104 patients was 60.03±17.01 years and the mean of dialysis vintage was 4.53±3.04 years. Of these patients, 62.5% declared their willingness to undergo KT, and among these, 76.9% declared that they had knowledge about KT. In regard to choice of donor, 79.7% stated that it was not important, while 56.7% were not informed about the existence of a waiting list for cadaveric donors. CONCLUSION:In order to increase in our country the number of cadaveric donors, which represent the most appropriate source of organ donation, several strategies should be considered, such as awareness-raising activities for patients and the community through campaigns by both the public and private sectors, and mass media. KEY WORDS:Attitude, Kidney transplantation, Knowledge ÖZ AMAÇ: Çalışmada, hemodiyaliz (HD) hastalarının böbrek nakli hakkındaki bilgi ve tutumları değerlendirilmektedir. GEREÇ ve YÖNTEMLER:Tanımlayıcı tipteki bu çalışma, Türkiye'nin büyük bir kentinde iki HD merkezinde, araştırmaya katılmayı kabul eden 104 HD hastası ile yürütülmüştür. Veriler, hastaların sosyodemografik verileri ve diyaliz süresi, HD tedavisinden memnuniyet durumları, böbrek nakli için gönüllü olma, böbrek nakli ve donör seçimi hakkında bilgi durumu gibi soruların yer aldığı ve araştırmacılar tarafından geliştirilen anket formu ile toplanmıştır. BULGULAR:Hastaların yaş ortalamaları 60,03±17,01 ve ortalama diyaliz süresi 4,53±3,04 yıldır. Hastaların %76,9'u nakil hakkında bilgi sahibi olduğunu belirtirken, %62,5'i böbrek nakli olmak istediklerini ifade etmiştir. Nakil olmak isteyen hastalardan %79,7'si için donör tipi önemli değildi. Hastaların %56,7'si gibi önemli bir oranı ise kadavra bekleme listesindeki mevcut durumu hakkında bilgisi olmadığını belirtmiştir. SONUÇ:Ülkemizde böbrek nakli sayısının artırılması için en uygun donör olan kadavra vericilerinin sayısının arttırılması amacıyla gerek devlet gerekse özel hizmet veren tüm kuruluşlar tarafından kampanyaların düzenlenmesi, internet siteleri ve medya aracılığıyla hastaların ve toplumun bilinçlendirilmesi gereklidir.

Evaluation of knowledge and attitudes towards kidney transplantation in patients undergoing hemodialysis at Muhimbili National Hospital, Tanzania.

“…Majority disagreed of kidney donation as going against the will of God, as compared to a study done by Merve Tarhan in Istanbul, which found that all of the religious officials [9] believed in the importance of organ donation by 80 % considering donating their organs,5 % had made an organ donation [10]. Participants were not sure and others disagreed of the attitude that using a deceased kidney is dishonoring the dead body.…”

Willingness of Patients With End-Stage Renal Disease to Accept a Kidney Transplant and Related Factors

“…In addition, participants' KT knowledge and willingness scores were significantly and positively correlated, supporting that KT knowledge relates positively to KT willingness. Kalender et al (2015) argued that patients may have extensive knowledge of KT because medical personnel voluntarily inform each patient receiving dialysis that they have the opportunity to register with an organ transplant center. Therefore, educational efforts are necessary to enhance willingness to receive a KT.…”

“…The above studies demonstrate a general lack of knowledge regarding KT among patients receiving dialysis. Conversely, one study found 77% of patients had knowledge of KT (Kalender et al, 2015), whereas other studies have revealed positive attitudes toward KT among a majority of participants (Boima et al, 2021;Mzee et al, 2020). However, a systematic literature review by Navaneethan and Singh (2006) identified generally negative attitudes toward KT among African American patients.…”

“…For patients with chronic kidney disease, rates of KT willingness were found to be 54% in the United States (Ilori et al, 2015), 69% in India (Kaur et al, 2019), and 67% in Ghana (Boima et al, 2021). For hemodialysis patients, rates of KT willingness were found to be 69% in Saudi Arabia (Alansari et al, 2017), 63% in Turkey (Kalender et al, 2015), 63% in Tanzania (Mzee et al, 2020), 60% in Pakistan (Ali et al, 2023), 73.3% in Morocco (Kabbali et al, 2014), and 35%-46% in China (Qiao et al, 2016;Tan et al, 2017). For patients with ESRD, rates of KT willingness were found to be 66.7% in Nigeria (Takure et al, 2016) and 16% in Taiwan (Chang, 2013).…”