Attitude and knowledge of medical students about organ donation – training needs identified from a Canadian survey

BMC Medical Education

Emilie-Prudence Belley-Côté¹  Félix Bégin²  Sasha Ménard-Castonguay²  François Lamontagne²  Frédérick D’Aragon²  Hector Quiroz-Martinez²  Philippe Robert³  Anne-Julie Frenette⁴ 

[1] Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, 1200 Main Street West, L8N 3Z5, Hamilton, ON, Canada;Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, 3001, 12e Avenue Nord, J1H 5N4, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada;Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, 3001, 12e Avenue Nord, J1H 5N4, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada;Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, 1050, Avenue de la Médecine, G1V 0A6, Québec, QC, Canada;Faculty of Pharmacy, Université de Montréal, 2940, Chemin de Polytechnique, H3T 1J4, Montréal, QC, Canada;

关键词: Organ donation;    Organ transplantation;    Medical education;    Medical students;    Knowledge;    Attitude;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12909-021-02736-2

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundAppropriate training of health professionals has been recommended to increase organ donation rates. Some studies have shown insufficient knowledge among medical students. This survey aims to describe their knowledge and attitude toward organ donation (OD).MethodWe designed, pre-tested and conducted an online survey of all undergraduate medical students from Montreal, Laval and Sherbrooke universities in 2016–2017. Multivariate linear regression identified factors associated with a better knowledge score.ResultsTwenty-two percent (750/3344) of students completed the survey. Ninety-one percent of students adequately knew that neurological death is irreversible; 76% acknowledged that someone could be neurologically deceased while his heart is still beating; 69% were not aware of circulatory determination of death. For only one knowledge item, senior students had a better answer than junior students. Total knowledge score was associated with exposure to OD during medical studies and comfort in answering patients’ questions about OD (p < 0,001). Regarding attitude, 96% of respondents wished to become organ donors after death and 92% supported OD training during their medical training.ConclusionDespite a favourable attitude, medical students have limited knowledge of OD. Findings suggest the need for a formal curriculum about OD, as students expressed.

【 授权许可】

CC BY