Impact of an Educational Intervention on Organ Donation Attitudes in College-Aged Students

Abstract

As the national demand for donated organs continues to rise, the rate of registered donors within the United States has remained stagnant, creating a shortage of viable, transferrable organs. Lack of registered donors can be partially attributed to misconceptions about organ donation, which has led to a population less willing to register as organ donors. The utilization of educational interventions can begin to address common misconceptions and change attitudes to favor organ donation. A quantitative pretest, posttest survey design was utilized in order to assess effectiveness of an educational intervention within the college-aged population. Results suggest that educational interventions are effective in creating positive attitudes about organ donation in college-aged students.