KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE OF THE HEALTHCARE STUDENTS REGARDING ORGAN DONATION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TABUK, KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA

Background: Many countries in the world are facing challenges in organ donation due to a shortage of organ availability. It leads to increased waiting time and delays the treatment time among the recipients. Knowledge and attitude among healthcare students is the key element in increasing the registration rate. This study aimed to assess the knowledge and attitude of undergraduate medical students towards organ donation at the University of Tabuk. Materials & Methods: : A descriptive cross-sectional survey was performed from December 2022 to February 2022, using a pre-designed online questionnaire among healthcare students. Eighty five percent of the calculated response rate with the fulfilled criteria was included in the study. Data was analyzed through Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 26. Results: More than half of the healthcare students had shown good knowledge regarding organ donation (53.89%). About 40.56% of the students reported a positive attitude toward organ donation and more than half had a neutral attitude (53.3%). The relationship between knowledge and attitude was highly significant (P<0.001). Program and previous knowledge are factors which had shown significant results with the knowledge of organ donation. Age, studying year and previous information had shown significant effects on attitude toward organ donation and transplantation. Conclusion: This study concluded that the participants had an average level of awareness regarding knowledge and attitude toward organ donation. This result creates the need for the inclusion of organ donation content in the curriculum among the health care courses, especially in the allied health sciences courses. Educating the students on this aspect is essential to create a joined community effort.