Assessment of knowledge on the organ and tissue donation and the transplantation process among health area students at the Marilia Medical School

Abstract

Introduction: Over the years, techniques used in organ transplantation have improved. However, the number of donors has not increased at the same rate. One of the major causes for this mismatch is the lack of information of the population on transplant process. When the misinformation is extended to health professionals, the impacts are significant, since they have active participation throughout the process. Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the Medicine and Nursing students from the Marilia Medical School the level of knowledge about organs and tissues donation and transplantation at the moment of the questionnaire application. Method: This is a descriptive transversal study, developed through the application of a ten multiple choice questions questionnaire comprising the theme of brain death, organ and tissues donation and transplantation. The analysis of the collected data was inserted and processed by using statistical software (EpiInfo and EpiData), and were assessed by the chi-square test. Result: 185 students from the courses of Medicine (4th-6th grade) and Nursing (1st-4th) answered the questionnaire. The average percentage of correct answers among medical and nursing students was 43.9% and 34.7%, respectively. Conclusion: The results of this study pointed to a deficit of knowledge about brain death and its consequences among the students of the Marilia Medical School. By acknowledging the prominent role that health professionals take in all the stages of the organ and tissue transplantation process, the expansion of the knowledge in this area during the undergraduate stages is an indispensable measure to achieve a satisfactory performance.