Do Spanish Medical Students Understand the Concept of Brain Death?

Rı́os, Antonio; López-Navas, A.; López-López, A.; Gómez, Francisco Javier; Iriarte, Jorge; Herruzo, Rafael; Blanco‐Fernández, Gerardo; Llorca, Javier; Asúnsolo, Ángel; Sánchez, Pilar Fernández; Gutiérrez, Pedro; Fernández, Ángel; Jesús, María Teresa de; Alarcón, Laura Martínez; Olivo, Marco; Fuentes, L.; Hernández, Juan Ramón Hernández; Virseda, J.; Yélamos, José; Bondía, J. A.; Hernández, A.M.; Ayala, M.A.; Ramírez, Pablo; Parrilla, Pascual

doi:10.1177/1526924817746687

Cited by 25 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Previous studies have shown that medical students were not adequately informed about brain death. In a study from Rios et al, 28% of medical students did not understand the concept of brain death, and 5% stated that brain death was not a sign of death, but was a potentially recoverable situation [ 16 ]. A study published by Fontana et al showed that 15.3% of medical school students stated that the information about donation and transplantation that they received in their classes in medical school was sufficient, but 41.9% stated that they did not know the difference between brain death and persistent vegetative state [ 18 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changing Attitudes of Medical Students Regarding Organ Donation from a University Medical School in Turkey

et al. 2018

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BackgroundDoctors have an important role in increasing the number of organ donors. This study aimed to investigate the changing attitudes of medical students regarding organ donation, from first-year medical students (FYMS) to sixth-year medical students (SYMS) at a university medical school in Turkey.Material/MethodsOne hundred first-year medical students and 100 sixth-year medical students participated in the study. A four-part questionnaire was designed for the study, with a response rate of 66.8%.ResultsCompleted study questionnaires showed that organ donation was considered by 46% of first-year medical students and 60% of sixth-year medical students, but an organ donor card was signed by only 8% and 10%, respectively. Information about organ donation had been sought, mainly from social media, by 72% of first-year medical students, and 55% of sixth-year medical students. Regarding their views on organ donation of their relatives, 78% of first-year medical students and 86% of sixth-year medical students were influenced by the opinions of their families and community. When asked about brain death, 50% of first-year medical students and 12% of sixth-year medical students believed it to be a potentially reversible condition, or were uncertain of the definition.ConclusionsDuring six years of training in a university medical school in Turkey, there was only a slight increase in the number of students who were willing to become organ donors and there was a lack of formal education regarding organ donation. Therefore, urgent improvements are required in the education of doctors and society regarding organ donation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changing Attitudes of Medical Students Regarding Organ Donation from a University Medical School in Turkey

et al. 2018

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“…Permission was taken from Rios et al . [ 2 ] to use their questionnaire, and to adapt it based on local cultural norms and practice. An anonymous questionnaire was used and distributed as an electronic form using Google forms and the data was collected by spread excel sheet.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[ 1 ] In most countries brain death is understood as the death of a person. [ 2 ] Most organ donors are patients who meet the criteria for neurologic brain-death. [ 3 ]…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Health care providers have important role in affecting public awareness regarding brain death and organ donation,[ 10 ] and therefore medical students' awareness and acceptance of the subject are important in affecting health workers practicing and the community beliefs about brain death and organ donation in the future, as they represent the future physicians. [ 2 ]…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A cross sectional study in Spain on 9275 medical students in 2010 indicated that 67% of students have adequate knowledge about brain death while 28% didn't know the meaning of brain death and 5% didn't believe brain death heralded the de facto death of a person. [ 2 ]…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Awareness of brain death, organ donation, and transplantation among medical students at single academic institute

Al‐Najjar

Alzahrani

et al. 2020

Saudi J Anaesth

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Objective: To assess the knowledge of the concept of brain death, attitude, and level of awareness towards organ donation and transplantation, among medical students and interns at the University of Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional study via electronic questionnaire over period of 3 weeks to 2 nd through 6 th year medical students and interns at university of Jeddah. Results: A response rate of 113 out of 151 (74.83%) was achieved. Among participants, 36% expressed uncertainty when questioned about the concept of brain death. 8.8% of the participants were against the idea of organ donation. 60% of those who refused to contemplate organ donation were unfamiliar with the brain death concept. No significant difference was seen regarding fears about cosmetic disfiguration between those familiar and unfamiliar with the concept of brain death. 60.2% of the study cohort would consider donating their organs to family members but only 29.2% of them had discussed the matter of organ donation and transplantation with them, while 44.2% had discussed the matter with their friends. Majority of medical students (71.7%) were interested in being organ donors. Conclusion: Knowledge of organ donation and transplantation were adequate. Matter accepting brain death and its implication still not clear for most of participants. We believe there is still room to improve. This could be achieved by integrating more education about different aspects of brain death and its implications through medical school years.

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When is a person dead? The Canadian public’s understanding of death and death determination: a nationwide survey

Sarti

Honarmand

Sutherland

et al. 2023

Can J Anesth/J Can Anesth

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Purpose We aimed to describe the Canadian public’s understanding and perception of how death is determined in Canada, their level of interest in learning about death and death determination, and their preferred strategies for informing the public. Methods We conducted a nationwide cross-sectional survey of a representative sample of the Canadian public. The survey presented two scenarios of a man who met current criteria for neurologic death determination (scenario 1) and a man who met current criteria for circulatory death determination (scenario 2). Survey questions evaluated understanding of how death is determined, acceptance of death determination by neurologic and circulatory criteria, and interest and preferred strategies in learning more about the topic. Results Among 2,000 respondents (50.8% women; n = 1,015), nearly 67.2% believed that the man in scenario 1 was dead ( n = 1,344) and 81.2% ( n = 1,623) believed that the man in scenario 2 was dead. Respondents who believed that the man was not dead or were unsure endorsed several factors that may increase their agreement with the determination of death, including requiring more information about how death was determined, seeing the results of brain imaging/tests, and a third doctor’s opinion. Predictors of disbelief that the man in scenario 1 is dead were younger age, being uncomfortable with the topic of death, and subscribing to a religion. Predictors of disbelief that the man in scenario 2 is dead were younger age, residing in Quebec (compared with Ontario), having a high school education, and subscribing to a religion. Most respondents (63.3%) indicated interest in learning more about death and death determination. Most respondents preferred to receive information about death and death determination from their health care professional (50.9%) and written information provided by their health care professional (42.7%). Conclusion Among the Canadian public, the understanding of neurologic and circulatory death determination is variable. More uncertainty exists with death determination by neurologic criteria than with circulatory criteria. Nevertheless, there is a high level of general interest in learning more about how death is determined in Canada. These findings provide important opportunities for further public engagement. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12630-023-02409-2.

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Do Spanish Medical Students Understand the Concept of Brain Death?

Abstract: Sixty-seven percent of medical students know the concept of brain death, and knowledge improved as they advanced in their degree.

Cited by 25 publications

References 11 publications

Changing Attitudes of Medical Students Regarding Organ Donation from a University Medical School in Turkey

Changing Attitudes of Medical Students Regarding Organ Donation from a University Medical School in Turkey

Awareness of brain death, organ donation, and transplantation among medical students at single academic institute

When is a person dead? The Canadian public’s understanding of death and death determination: a nationwide survey

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