1.Demographics of healthcare professionals’ knowledge and attitude toward deceased organ donation: Survey of critical care areas in a tertiary hospital
James William Foong ; Ong Jea Sheng ; Oo Wei Loon ; Mohammad Moshaddeque Hossain ; Nirmala Devi Baskaran ; Hasdy Haron ; Manoj Valappil ; Raghu Varadarajan
The Medical Journal of Malaysia 2019;74(2):109-115
Introduction: Organ donation rate in Malaysia is amongst
the lowest in the World. Healthcare professionals (HCPs)
working in critical care areas play an important role in the
deceased organ donation (DOD) process. This study seeks
to identify the demographics of HCPs working in the critical
care areas and their knowledge and attitudes toward the
DOD process.
Method: A cross-sectional survey on the demographics,
knowledge and attitudes of the doctors and nurses working
in critical care areas was undertaken by the random
sampling method, using a validated, structured
questionnaire. HCP’s knowledge and attitudes towards brain
death (BD), DOD, organ transplantation (OT), and
possession of organ donor card were compared against
their demographics.
Results: Four hundred and twelve (72.9%) out of the total
565 HCPs in critical care areas responded of whom 163
(39.6%) were doctors and 249 (60.4%) were nurses. After
adjusting for other factors, department of work and
profession were highly correlated with the overall
knowledge score (p<0.001 and p=0.003 respectively) and
knowledge about BD (p<0.001 and p=0.013 respectively).
HCPs from the neurosurgical intensive care unit (p<0.001)
and doctors (p<0.001) had higher mean knowledge scores
compared to their counterparts. Profession was most
significantly correlated with having a positive attitude
towards BD (p<0.001) and OT (p<0.001).
Conclusion: Department, profession and ethnicity were the
demographic characteristics that correlated with knowledge
and attitudes of HCPs on organ donation. Efforts to improve
DOD rates in Malaysia should include targeted interventions
to address the knowledge and attitudes of HCPs working in
critical care areas.