Conocimientos y actitudes de los médicos de instituciones hospitalarias en Barranquillla sobre donación y trasplante de órganos Julio-noviembre de 1999 / Knowledge and attitudes about organ donation and transplantation by doctors at Hospitals in Barranquillla. July-November of 1999

ABSTRACT

Aim: To aim of this study was to determine the attitudes and to evaluate the knowledge of physiciansof hospitable Institutions in Barranquilla, Colombia in relation to the donation and transplantationoforgans.Methods: A cross-sectional study was designed in which a representative stratified random samplewas selected of 305 physicians (general practitioner and specialist). The source of information was astructured questionnaire. The questionnaire was adapted from Blanca, Frutos and Rosel with 29questions, divided in three sections. The first section personal achievement (6 items); the secondsection evaluation of the knowledge on donation and transplants by means of questions of multipleselection (11 items); and third section it evaluates the attitudes using a likert scale (12 items). Thestudy was performed with the consent of the hospital centers.Results: We evaluated 274 physician (104 general practitioner) with a mean age of 48,7 years (S.D.=6.37). The ratio of specialist physicians to general practitioner doctor was of 1.61. With respect to thetheoretical knowledge, 50,73 percent of modal frequency were found to have a ranking of mediocre and41,24 percent were found to belong in the good rank. When this level of knowledge was compared with thatof the work place there was a significant difference in the level of knowledge between general andspecialist physicians (OR = 2,37 IC95 1,42 - 3,93). The physicians do not know the legal frame thatregulates the donation and transplant of organs. 72,3 percent of the participants do not know the existenceof the program for the donation and transplantation of organs in Barranquilla. With respect to themanner of obtaining information on this theme, 35 percent used books or medical journals. With respect tothe general knowledge of general practitioners and specialist physicians there was a statisticallysignificant difference found using a Z test (difference of proportions 3,91; p = 0.00007).Conclusions: The authors rec...