| Description |
A study using a descriptive and correlational design explored families' experiences with organ donation and the factors influencing the decision to donate a loved one's organs. The basis for the conceptual framework was Ajzen and Fishbein's theory of reasoned action (TRA). Participants were from a convenience sample of families in northern Utah and southern Idaho who had made the decision to donate a loved one's organs. Instruments used consisted of the Family Organ Donation Assessment Tool (FODAT), the Organ Donation Request Information Form (ODRIF), the Texas Revised Inventory of Grief (TRIG), and an interview guide. The FODAT is a 13-item questionnaire based on the TRA model and was used to measure attitudes, subjective norms, and beliefs of organ donation. The ODRIF gathered demographic data. The TRIG was used to measure grief following bereavement. The Interview Guide assisted in gathering additional data regarding the donation experience. Seventy-six family members responded to three questionnaires and 13 of the 76 participated in interviews about the donation experience. The overall attitude toward organ donation was positive. The donor families believed that donating organs gave a gift to other individuals. Families believed persons can be declared dead when brain death occurs. Families did not believe body mutilation would occur if they chose to donate, nor did families believe the health care team was more interested in organ retrieval than in the needs of the donor. Over 90% of the participants would donate again if the opportunity arose. Behavioral beliefs of altruism, the health care team, and brain death had significant correlations with attitude toward donation, with the beliefs explaining 28% of the variance in attitude. There was a significant correlation between attitude and intent to donate. There was not a significant relationship between attitude and grief scores. The nurse, physician, approach person, and family all had influence on the families' decisions to donate. There were no significant correlations between demographic data and intent to donate. Grounded theory methodology was used to collect and analyze data from the interviews. Ethnograph was used for data management. Two major concepts emerged from the interview data: the description of the donation experience and responses to donation. The data from the interviews parallel and support data from the questionnaires. |
