Knowledge of the Brain Death Concept Among Older People

Febrero, Beatríz; Ros, I.; Almela-Baeza, Javier; Pérez-Sánchez, Belén; Rodrı́guez, José Manuel; Ruiz-Manzanera, Juan José; Alconchel, Felipe; Martínez-Insfran, L.A.; Fernández-Pérez, Jenyfer; Martı́nez-Alarcón, L.; Rı́os, Antonio; Parrilla, Pascual; Ramı́rez, Pablo

doi:10.1016/j.transproceed.2019.09.019

Cited by 6 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Despite significant public discourse and legal changes favoring brain death determination, brain death remains a highly controversial topic among the public, such as in Japan. 28 Similarly, in Denmark, after brain death was opened up for public examination, the result, surprisingly, was greater uncertainty and lower organ donation rates, despite the huge economic investment by the government to sponsor large public hearings, public debates, educational films, and programs on national television. 23 , 48 …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Twenty-two studies located reveal that the overall public understanding of brain death is indeed poor. 3,11,17-37 Twenty-four empirical studies were identified that examined the public’s understanding of death and its determination using quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methodologies (Table 3). Siminoff et al 17 found that a sizable number of people (30%) in their study agreed with the statement “a person is dead only when the heart has stopped beating.” Even among those who had good knowledge of the brain death diagnosis, it is often difficult to accept it as a true death.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…More specifically, public misunderstanding stems more from confusion about the medical and legal facts concerning death determination, particularly in brain death cases. 3,11,17-37,41,45 Death in the context of organ donation introduced more complexity. 10,17,20,31-35,40,42,43,56 A recent literature review indicates that “the existing data on public attitudes regarding brain death and organ donation reflect substantial public confusion” about medical and legal facts, 59 which is not surprising given the complexity of this issue.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Public Understandings of the Definition and Determination of Death: A Scoping Review

Zheng

Sutherland

Hornby

et al. 2022

Transplantation Direct

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Background. Advances in medicine and technology that have made it possible to support, repair, or replace failing organs challenge commonly held notions of life and death. The objective of this review is to develop a comprehensive description of the current understandings of the public regarding the meaning/definition and determination of death. Methods. This scoping review was conducted in compliance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews checklist. Online databases were used to identify articles published from 2003 to 2021. Two reviewers (S.S. and K.Z.) screened the articles using predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted data for specific content variables, and performed descriptive examination. Complementary searches of reference lists complemented the final study selection. A search strategy using vocabulary of the respective databases was created, and criteria for the inclusion and exclusion of the articles were established. Results. Seven thousand four hundred twenty-eight references were identified. Sixty were retained for analysis, with 4 additional references added from complementary searches. A data extraction instrument was developed to iteratively chart the results. A qualitative approach was conducted to thematically analyze the data. Themes included public understanding/attitudes toward death and determination of death (neurological determination and cardiocirculatory determination of death), death and organ donation, public trust and legal variability, and media impacts. Conclusions. This review provides a current and comprehensive overview of the literature related to the general public's understanding and attitudes toward death and death determination and serves to highlight the gaps in this topic.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Public Understandings of the Definition and Determination of Death: A Scoping Review

Zheng

Sutherland

Hornby

et al. 2022

Transplantation Direct

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“…Studies have shown that the media, including televised dramas, plays an important role in shaping public views of death. 1 , 23 , 24 Unfortunately, these sources also perpetuate misinformation on how death is defined and determined along with the implications, creating confusion and distrust. 1 Access to accurate information is essential for preserving public trust.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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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“…The reasons for being against organ donation given most by the respondents were fear of apparent death and the rejection of the idea of mutilation of the body, as seen in other studies [ 8 , 9 ]. The misconception of the BD concept reached 36% of the respondents of older age in our region [ 19 ], although knowledge of this concept did not significantly influence attitude toward the donation of their own organs, which is something that does occur in the general population and in other groups [ 19 , 20 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The New Age of Organ Donation—What Factors Have an Influence on the Attitude of Older People? An Attitudinal Survey in Southeastern Spain

Febrero

Almela-Baeza

Ros-Madrid

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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Currently, more than half of all donors are aged over 65 years, and previous studies have shown that this group is less willing to support organ donation. Objective: to analyse the attitude of people aged over 65 years toward organ donation and transplantation (ODT) and to determine how their psychosocial profile affects their attitude. Study population: citizens residing in southeastern Spain older than 65 years of age. A representative sample was obtained, which was stratified by gender and geographical location (n = 420). A validated questionnaire about ODT was used. Statistical analysis: a bivariate analysis was performed using the X2 test and a multivariate analysis. The favourable attitude toward the donation of one’s own organs was 53%. The psychosocial variables affecting attitude were mainly: having discussed ODT with one’s family (p < 0.001) or friends (OR 2.223), acceptance of cremation (OR 2.508), and acceptance of an autopsy (OR 2.578). Citizens aged over 65 tend to have an unfavourable attitude toward the donation of their own organs. The lack of dialogue about ODT in social and family settings, and the attitude to the manipulation of one’s own body after death, are aspects of a respondent’s psychosocial profile, which influence this attitude.

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Knowledge of the Brain Death Concept Among Older People

Cited by 6 publications

References 10 publications

Public Understandings of the Definition and Determination of Death: A Scoping Review

Public Understandings of the Definition and Determination of Death: A Scoping Review

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

The New Age of Organ Donation—What Factors Have an Influence on the Attitude of Older People? An Attitudinal Survey in Southeastern Spain

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