Prior family communication and consent to organ donation: using intensive care physicians’ perception to model decision processes
Generally, the Swiss hold favourable attitudes to organ donation, but only few carry a donor card. If no card is found on a potential donor, families have to be approached about donation. The aim of this paper is to model the role that some family communication factors play in the family decision to...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publishing
2012-04-01
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| Series: | Journal of Public Health Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.jphres.org/index.php/jphres/article/view/73 |
| _version_ | 1797971240772698112 |
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| author | Peter J. Schulz Ann van Ackere Uwe Hartung Anke Dunkel |
| author_facet | Peter J. Schulz Ann van Ackere Uwe Hartung Anke Dunkel |
| author_sort | Peter J. Schulz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Generally, the Swiss hold favourable attitudes to organ donation, but only few carry a donor card. If no card is found on a potential donor, families have to be approached about donation. The aim of this paper is to model the role that some family communication factors play in the family decision to consent or not to organ donation by a brain dead relative. Information was gathered in face-to-face interviews, using a questionnaire and recording open answers and comments. Eight heads of intensive care units (ICU) of Swiss hospitals and one representative from <em>Swisstransplant</em> were interviewed. Questions asked respondents to estimate the prevalence and effect of communication factors in families facing a decision to consent to donation. Answers were averaged for modelling purposes. Modelling also relies on a previous representative population survey for cross-validation. The family of the deceased person is almost always approached about donation. Physicians perceive that prior thinking and favourable predisposition to donation are correlated and that the relatives’ predisposition is the most important factor for the consent to donation, up to the point that a negative predisposition may override an acknowledged wish of the deceased to donate. Donor cards may trigger family communication and ease the physicians’ approach to family about donation. Campaigns should encourage donate-willing people to talk to their families about it, make people think about organ donation and try to change unfavourable predispositions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T03:29:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d11edcb08b0b43f1b881c5fa00850722 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2279-9028 2279-9036 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T03:29:31Z |
| publishDate | 2012-04-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Public Health Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-d11edcb08b0b43f1b881c5fa008507222023-01-02T06:41:09ZengSAGE PublishingJournal of Public Health Research2279-90282279-90362012-04-0112e19e1910.4081/jphr.2012.e1919Prior family communication and consent to organ donation: using intensive care physicians’ perception to model decision processesPeter J. Schulz0Ann van Ackere1Uwe Hartung2Anke Dunkel3Institute of Communication and Health – University of Lugano, LuganoInstitute of Research in Management Quartier UNIL-Dorigny Bâtiment Internef Université de Lausanne 1015 Lausanne SwitzerlandInstitute of Communication and Health – University of Lugano, LuganoInstitute of Communication and Health – University of Lugano, LuganoGenerally, the Swiss hold favourable attitudes to organ donation, but only few carry a donor card. If no card is found on a potential donor, families have to be approached about donation. The aim of this paper is to model the role that some family communication factors play in the family decision to consent or not to organ donation by a brain dead relative. Information was gathered in face-to-face interviews, using a questionnaire and recording open answers and comments. Eight heads of intensive care units (ICU) of Swiss hospitals and one representative from <em>Swisstransplant</em> were interviewed. Questions asked respondents to estimate the prevalence and effect of communication factors in families facing a decision to consent to donation. Answers were averaged for modelling purposes. Modelling also relies on a previous representative population survey for cross-validation. The family of the deceased person is almost always approached about donation. Physicians perceive that prior thinking and favourable predisposition to donation are correlated and that the relatives’ predisposition is the most important factor for the consent to donation, up to the point that a negative predisposition may override an acknowledged wish of the deceased to donate. Donor cards may trigger family communication and ease the physicians’ approach to family about donation. Campaigns should encourage donate-willing people to talk to their families about it, make people think about organ donation and try to change unfavourable predispositions.http://www.jphres.org/index.php/jphres/article/view/73organ donation, family consent, organ donor card |
| spellingShingle | Peter J. Schulz Ann van Ackere Uwe Hartung Anke Dunkel Prior family communication and consent to organ donation: using intensive care physicians’ perception to model decision processes Journal of Public Health Research organ donation, family consent, organ donor card |
| title | Prior family communication and consent to organ donation: using intensive care physicians’ perception to model decision processes |
| title_full | Prior family communication and consent to organ donation: using intensive care physicians’ perception to model decision processes |
| title_fullStr | Prior family communication and consent to organ donation: using intensive care physicians’ perception to model decision processes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Prior family communication and consent to organ donation: using intensive care physicians’ perception to model decision processes |
| title_short | Prior family communication and consent to organ donation: using intensive care physicians’ perception to model decision processes |
| title_sort | prior family communication and consent to organ donation using intensive care physicians perception to model decision processes |
| topic | organ donation, family consent, organ donor card |
| url | http://www.jphres.org/index.php/jphres/article/view/73 |
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