Attitudes, and barriers towards organ donation among university students, faculty and staff in Ajman, United Arab Emirates: Cross-sectional survey design

Abstract

BACKGROUND

Limited research exists on attitudes and barriers to organ donation in the United Arab Emirates, highlighting the need for a deeper understanding of public perceptions and challenges.

AIM

To assess the attitudes and barriers toward organ donation.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was adopted and included 607 samples consisting of students, faculty, and staff who were selected from three universities in Ajman and who had signed consent forms. A validated self-administered questionnaire that included 13 attitudes and 14 barrier items was used as a tool. The reliability of the tool was 0.89 (Cronbach's alpha). In the analysis of attitude scores, responses were rated on a scale from 0 to 4, with 0 representing 'strongly disagree' and 4 representing 'strongly agree' for supportive attitudes towards organ donation. Participants with a total attitude score of 39 or higher indicated agreement or strong agreement with all items, reflecting a generally supportive attitude toward organ donation. Lower scores suggested that the respondent was neutral or disagreed with one or more items, indicating a less supportive attitude toward organ donation. Knowledge about organ donation was assessed by self-administered questionnaire that included 13 items. Analysis was done using SPSS version 29. χ² was used to assess associations between variables.

RESULTS

Most participants were young (≤ 30 years old, 83.7%), female (79.2%), from World Health Organization Eastern Mediterranean Region countries (69.5%), Muslim (82.4%), students (80.6%), single (83.9%), and from a nursing college (33.1%). The majority had no personal or family history of organ donation (93.2% and 93.9%, respectively). Supportive attitudes toward organ donation were significantly associated with religion (P = 0.003), working status (P = 0.009), university (P = 0.019), and knowledge (P < 0.001). Additionally, those with a personal or family history of organ donation were significantly more supportive (56.8% vs 33.3%, P = 0.004). Lack of awareness was the most reported barrier for organ donation (64.1%) followed by being afraid of organ donation due to medical procedures required (51.9%).

CONCLUSION

The findings suggest that supportive attitudes toward organ donation are influenced by demographic factors, personal experiences, and knowledge levels. Lack of awareness and fear of medical procedures were the most reported barriers to organ donation. These results highlight the need for targeted educational programs to increase awareness and promote positive attitudes toward organ donation.

Keywords: Organ donation; Barriers; Attitude; University students; Employees

Core Tip: As healthcare professionals, we have a responsibility to support initiatives that foster positive public attitudes toward organ donation and to identify the barriers that hinder participation. To contribute to this effort, we conducted a study to assess the attitude and barriers towards organ donation. Lack of awareness was the most reported barrier for organ donation, followed by being afraid of organ donation due to medical procedures required. These results highlight the need for targeted educational programs to increase awareness and promote positive attitudes toward organ donation.