Psychological stress and coping styles of relatives of donation after citizen’s death

Abstract

Objective To investigate the changes of psychological stress and coping styles of the relatives of donation after citizen’s death (DCD). Methods A questionnaire survey was conducted on 29 close relatives of 10 effective organ donors before and 1, 3, and 6 months after the organ donation for their general demographic information, awareness of organ donation, and scores of Chinese Perceived Stress Scale (CPSS) and Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire (SCSQ). Results The 29 relatives’ median age was 49, including 16 males (55.2%) and 13 females (44.8%). Before the organ donation, only 34.5% of the respondents knew about organ donation, and 65.5% of them knew about organ donation through TV media and the Internet. The scores of CPSS before and 1, 3, and 6 months after the organ donation were (34.16±2.52), (33.26±2.23), (34.00±1.56), and (33.47±1.95), with a decreasing trend. The scores of SCSQ positive coping style before and 1, 3, and 6 months after the organ donation were (21.42±4.60), (23.31±3.96), (26.13±3.40), and (28.52±4.55), with an increasing trend were showed, the difference was statistically significant. The scores of SCSQ negative coping style before and 1, 3, and 6 months after the organ donation were (17.63±2.39), (15.47±1.84), (11.93±1.61), and (11.42±1.87), with a decreasing tren. Conclusion The psychological stress of donors' close relatives is relatively higher before donation, and the situation improves gradually. The coping style becomes more and more positive. Key words: Organ donation; Psychological stress; Coping style