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

Table 1 Sociodemographic characteristics of participants

Variable	Subcategory	Frequency1	%
Age (years)	≤ 30	508	83.7
	31-45	74	12.2
	46-60	22	3.6
	> 60	3	.5
Gender	Male	125	20.8
	Female	476	79.2
Nationality: World Health Organization region	African	24	4.0
	American	7	1.2
	South East Asia	116	19.1
	European	13	2.1
	Eastern Mediterranean Region	421	69.5
	Western Pacific	25	4.1
Religion	Islam	497	82.4
	Christianity	61	10.1
	Hinduism	38	6.3
	Others	7	1.2
Occupation	Student	489	80.6
	Staff	73	12.0
	Faculty	45	7.4
University	Gulf Medical University	421	69.3
	Other	186	30.7
Year in program	1st	144	26.7
	2nd	149	27.6
	3rd	120	22.2
	4th	121	22.4
	≥ 5	6	1.1
Marital status	Single	509	83.9
	Married	98	16.1
College	COM	91	15.0
	COD	105	17.3
	CON	201	33.1
	COP	36	5.9
	COHS	67	11.0
	Non-medical colleges	107	17.6

¹Missing information for some variables.

COM: College of Medicine; COD: College of Dentistry; CON: College of Nursing; COP: College of Pharmacy; COHS: College of Health Sciences.

Table 2 The attitude of participants towards organ donation

Attitude	Not agree/ strongly not agree/neutral		Agree/strongly agree
	n	%	n	%
A1. I am willing to donate my organs after my death	382	62.9	225	37.1
A2. My family will be willing to donate my organs after my death	487	80.2	120	19.8
A3. I am ready to receive an organ if needed	234	38.6	373	61.4
A4. I am ready to donate my organ to a person who belongs to a different religion	238	39.2	369	60.8
A5. Organ donation is a good attitude, and it should be promoted	193	31.8	414	68.2
A6. Organ donation should be an individual choice, and it should not be done by compulsion	141	23.2	466	76.8
A7. Organ transplantation is a safe and effective procedure	286	47.1	321	52.9
A8. hospitals use donated organs as they are intended to be used	243	40.0	364	60.0
A9. People who receive transplants live a healthy life in the future	311	51.2	296	48.8
A10. My religion supports organ donation	311	51.2	296	48.8
A11. I feel organ donation is a social responsibility	307	50.6	300	49.4
A12. Signing a donor card will not change the medical treatment I receive to save my life at the hospital	332	54.7	275	45.3
A13. I am willing to register as an organ donor and I am ready to sign organ donation card	401	66.1	206	33.9

Table 3 Factors associated with attitude towards organ donation

Variable	Subcategory	Low/medium supportive attitudes		High supportive attitude		P value
		n	%	n	%
Age (years)	≤ 30	338	66.5	170	33.5	0.229
	31-45	45	60.8	29	39.2
	> 45	13	52.0	12	48.0
Gender	Male	81	64.8	44	35.2	0.876
	Female	312	65.5	164	34.5
Nationality: World Health Organization region	African	19	79.2	5	20.8	0.082
	American	5	71.4	2	28.6
	South East Asia	67	57.8	49	42.2
	European	5	38.5	8	61.5
	Eastern Mediterranean Region	282	67.0	139	33.0
	Western Pacific	17	68.0	8	32.0
Religion	Islam	339	68.3	157	31.7	0.003
	Christianity	33	54.1	28	45.9
	Hinduism	17	44.7	21	55.3
	Others	3	42.9	4	57.1
Working status	Student	329	67.3	160	32.7	0.009
	Faculty	20	44.4	25	55.6
	Staff	47	64.4	26	35.6
University	University offering mostly health programs	262	62.2	159	37.8	0.019
	Other	134	72.0	52	28.0
Year in program	1st	97	67.4	47	32.6	0.522
	2nd	104	69.8	45	30.2
	3rd	80	66.7	40	33.3
	4th and ≥ 5	78	61.4	49	38.6
Marital status	Single	339	66.6	170	33.4	0.108
	Married	57	58.2	41	41.8
College	COM	59	64.8	32	35.2	0.446
	COD	70	66.7	35	33.3
	CON	122	60.7	79	39.3
	COP	24	66.7	12	33.3
	COHS	43	64.2	24	35.8
	Non-medical college	78	72.9	29	27.1
Knowledge	Poor knowledge	136	76.8	41	23.2	< 0.001
	Adequate knowledge	260	60.5	170	39.5
Personal or family history receiving organs	No	369	65.5	194	34.5	0.553
	Yes	25	61.0	16	39.0
Personal or family history of donating organs	No	378	66.7	189	33.3	0.004
	Yes	16	43.2	21	56.8

COM: College of Medicine; COD: College of Dentistry; CON: College of Nursing; COP: College of Pharmacy; COHS: College of Health Sciences.