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Knowledge of the Brain Death Concept Among the Puerto Rican Population Residing in Florida
Antonio Ríos1, Ana I López-Navas2, Juan Flores-Medina3
1International Collaborative Donor Project ("Proyecto Colaborativo Internacional Donante"), Murcia, Spain; Department of Surgery, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain; Transplant Unit, Surgery Service, IMIB - Virgen de la Arrixaca University Clinical Hospital, Murcia, Spain.
Introduction:
Puerto Rican and Cuban populations constitute the largest immigrant groups in Florida. This leads to an increase in their involvement in the organ donation and transplantation process (ODT); however, there is very little understanding about their attitude toward and knowledge of related key aspects such as brain death (BD).
Objective:
Analyze knowledge of the BD concept among the Puerto Rican population residing in Florida.
Material And Methods:
The population under study is born in Puerto Rico and residing in Florida. Inclusion criteria was the population over 15 years stratified by age and sex. The assessment instrument was a validated questionnaire of attitude toward donation and organ transplantation "PCID-DTO-Ríos." A random selection of people was surveyed according to stratification. Support from immigration assistance associations in Florida was needed to locate potential respondents. Survey completion was anonymous and self-administered.
Results:
Of the 259 respondents, 35% (n = 90) know the BD concept and consider it the death of an individual, 44% (n = 113) do not know it, and 21% (n = 56) do not consider them death. Variables significantly related to the correct knowledge of BD are as follows: sex (P = .012); marital status (P = .043); and couple's opinion (P = .001) and religion (P < .001). In the multivariate analysis, the variables that persist as significant are being married (odds ratio [OR] = 5.231; P = .002); to know the organ donation and transplantation couple attitude as favorable (OR = 4.819; P = .001) and not being Catholic (OR = 4.090; P < .001).
Conclusions:
Only one third of the Puerto Rican population residing in Florida knows the concept of BD and accepts it as the death of a person.
