Özet:

Objective: The objective of this study was to analyze the attitude of undergraduate health sciences students toward organ donation and determine the factors that affect this attitude. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 495 students in a Faculty of Health Sciences at the Southeastern Anatolia Region from January to February 2021. The participants completed a self-report questionnaire, including questions on socio-demographic factors and the Organ Donation Attitude Scale. The questionnaire completion rate was 70.0%. IBM SPSS software was used for statistical analyses, with P values < 0.05 considered to be statistically significant. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Independent-Samples T test and One-Way ANOVA test. Results: The mean age of the participants was 20.63±1.87 years. Of all respondents, 45.4% were willing to donate organs upon death, while the remaining 54.6% were unwilling to donate. Variables which were related to a positive attitude towards organ donation were: being of the female sex, nuclear family structure, living in urban, willingness to be organ donors, past experience of organ transplantation and donation by family, positive attitude of the family members toward organ donation and religious beliefs about organ donation. Conclusion: High level of positive attitude but low level of willingness was noticed among the study participants toward organ donation. Creating awareness should be promoted to maximize favorable attitudes and willingness to donate among these future health care professionals.

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