Influence of different sources of information on attitude toward organ donation: a factor analysis

To determine media through which the population receives information on donation; to analyze the association between the sources of information and the psychosocial variables with respect to the opinion on donation; and to determine how each source of information influences this opinion.

A questionnaire on donation was administered to a random sample of 2000 persons stratified by age, gender, and geographical location, of whom 1143 respondents claimed to have no experience with donation and/or transplantation. A statistical analysis was done between the sources of information or the psychosocial variables or their co-variation to determine their specific impact on the population.

The medium with the greatest impact on the population is television; the second factor is the press and radio; the third is magazines and talks with friends/family; the fourth is hoardings and posters, and campaigns about organ donation; and the last factor is information given by health professionals. In the factor analysis between sources of information and psychosocial variables, an association was observed between press, radio, and information given by health professionals and a higher education level; and between information provided by discussions in schools, by age, and a higher level of education. Sources of Information sources as that have a favorable effect on donation include discussions, (P = .0079), and information by health professionals (P < .0005) and by friends (P = .0132) and by family (P = .0044).

Opinion on donation is more favorable among subjects who have received information on an individual basis and at specialized meetings. The only psychosocial variable associated with some sources of information is the level of education.