Medical students’ knowledge and attitude toward brain death and the influence of medical education: a cross-sectional study
Abstract Background The medical students’ knowledge and attitude toward brain death has not been investigated in China. The aims of this study were to assess the knowledge and attitude toward brain death among medical students in China and assess the influence of medical education on the knowledge a...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2024-03-01
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| Series: | BMC Medical Education |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05346-w |
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| author | Chang Liu Shiqing Liu |
| author_facet | Chang Liu Shiqing Liu |
| author_sort | Chang Liu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background The medical students’ knowledge and attitude toward brain death has not been investigated in China. The aims of this study were to assess the knowledge and attitude toward brain death among medical students in China and assess the influence of medical education on the knowledge and attitude. Methods An online questionnaire consisting of 17 questions was developed and completed by undergraduates majoring in clinical medicine in China Medical University. The students’ demographic data, knowledge and attitude toward brain death were collected and analyzed. Results A total of 1075 medical students participated in the survey, and 1051 of them completed the valid questionnaire. The exploratory factor analysis grouped the 17 items into four dimensions, which explained 63.5% of the total variance. These dimensions were named as knowledge (5 items), attitude (5 items), concern (3 items) and education needs (4 items) respectively. The global Cronbach α of the questionnaire was 0.845 and the Cronbach α of the four dimensions ranged from 0.756 to 0.866. The mean dimension scores of knowledge, attitude, concern and education needs was 3.67 ± 0.89, 3.67 ± 0.87, 3.10 ± 1.03 and 4.12 ± 0.72 respectively. The clinical students had a better knowledge than the preclinical students (P < 0.001). The clinical students had a more favorable attitude in stopping the treatment for a brain-dead family member and using the organs and/or tissues of brain-dead patients for transplantation (P < 0.001). The clinical students showed more concerns than the preclinical students (P < 0.001). There was no significant difference in the education needs between the clinical and pre-clinical students. Conclusions Most medical students in China had insufficient knowledge about brain death. Although their knowledge of brain death increased with their university degree, their attitude toward organ donation after brain death did not evolve accordingly. Their concerns about brain death increased with seniority. Most students had great education needs about brain death. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T16:16:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a9b6f5ef7b31425b8c3a68feb4ab34a2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1472-6920 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T16:16:50Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Medical Education |
| spelling | doaj.art-a9b6f5ef7b31425b8c3a68feb4ab34a22024-03-31T11:23:52ZengBMCBMC Medical Education1472-69202024-03-012411710.1186/s12909-024-05346-wMedical students’ knowledge and attitude toward brain death and the influence of medical education: a cross-sectional studyChang Liu0Shiqing Liu1Department of Psychology, Institution of Medical Humanities, China Medical UniversityDepartment of Anesthesiology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical UniversityAbstract Background The medical students’ knowledge and attitude toward brain death has not been investigated in China. The aims of this study were to assess the knowledge and attitude toward brain death among medical students in China and assess the influence of medical education on the knowledge and attitude. Methods An online questionnaire consisting of 17 questions was developed and completed by undergraduates majoring in clinical medicine in China Medical University. The students’ demographic data, knowledge and attitude toward brain death were collected and analyzed. Results A total of 1075 medical students participated in the survey, and 1051 of them completed the valid questionnaire. The exploratory factor analysis grouped the 17 items into four dimensions, which explained 63.5% of the total variance. These dimensions were named as knowledge (5 items), attitude (5 items), concern (3 items) and education needs (4 items) respectively. The global Cronbach α of the questionnaire was 0.845 and the Cronbach α of the four dimensions ranged from 0.756 to 0.866. The mean dimension scores of knowledge, attitude, concern and education needs was 3.67 ± 0.89, 3.67 ± 0.87, 3.10 ± 1.03 and 4.12 ± 0.72 respectively. The clinical students had a better knowledge than the preclinical students (P < 0.001). The clinical students had a more favorable attitude in stopping the treatment for a brain-dead family member and using the organs and/or tissues of brain-dead patients for transplantation (P < 0.001). The clinical students showed more concerns than the preclinical students (P < 0.001). There was no significant difference in the education needs between the clinical and pre-clinical students. Conclusions Most medical students in China had insufficient knowledge about brain death. Although their knowledge of brain death increased with their university degree, their attitude toward organ donation after brain death did not evolve accordingly. Their concerns about brain death increased with seniority. Most students had great education needs about brain death.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05346-wBrain deathOrgan donationKnowledgeAttitudeMedical studentChina |
| spellingShingle | Chang Liu Shiqing Liu Medical students’ knowledge and attitude toward brain death and the influence of medical education: a cross-sectional study BMC Medical Education Brain death Organ donation Knowledge Attitude Medical student China |
| title | Medical students’ knowledge and attitude toward brain death and the influence of medical education: a cross-sectional study |
| title_full | Medical students’ knowledge and attitude toward brain death and the influence of medical education: a cross-sectional study |
| title_fullStr | Medical students’ knowledge and attitude toward brain death and the influence of medical education: a cross-sectional study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Medical students’ knowledge and attitude toward brain death and the influence of medical education: a cross-sectional study |
| title_short | Medical students’ knowledge and attitude toward brain death and the influence of medical education: a cross-sectional study |
| title_sort | medical students knowledge and attitude toward brain death and the influence of medical education a cross sectional study |
| topic | Brain death Organ donation Knowledge Attitude Medical student China |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05346-w |
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