Impact on Teenagers of Completing a Questionnaire about Organ Donation and Transplantation

Abstract

Introduction Completing a questionnaire about organ donation and transplantation (ODT) could arouse interest in the respondents and have positive repercussions for the subject in question. It would be important to assess this aspect before introducing an educational initiative related to ODT. Another important point is that teenagers represent the future of the community and for that reason it is important to study their relationship with ODT. Objective: to analyze the impact of completing an ODT questionnaire on attitude toward and knowledge of the subject among teenagers. Materials and Methods All the students from the final year of Compulsory Secondary Education (mainly 15-16 year olds; n=280) were selected from four randomly selected secondary schools in southeastern Spain. A questionnaire was given out to them about ODT including questions about several psychosocial aspects. The survey was completed anonymously, but the students used a code. Four months later the same process was repeated with a second questionnaire. The questionnaires were matched according to the code that the student put on the questionnaire. Statistical analysis: A descriptive analysis was carried out using contingency tables and the McNemar test. Results The results in the first and second questionnaire were: a favorable opinion toward donating one’s own organs: 66% in both questionnaires; a favorable attitude toward donating a family member’s organs: 45% in both questionnaires; attitude toward living donation: 70% in both questionnaires; commenting on the subject of ODT with family and/or friends: 41% vs. 43%; knowledge of the brain death concept: 48% vs. 43%; believing that there are enough organs available for transplantation: 17% vs. 22%; a respondent's belief that he or she may need a transplant in the future: 54% vs. 57%; a belief that the Catholic church is against organ donation: 8% vs. 11%; interest in carrying out an activity about ODT in class: 82% vs. 75%. No statistically significant differences were found (p>0.05). Conclusion Completing a questionnaire about ODT per sé does not lead to an improvement in attitude to and knowledge about ODT in teenagers.