Nursing students' knowledge and related factors towards organ donation: A systematic review

Abstract

This systematic review investigated the level of knowledge among nursing students regarding organ donation and the factors influencing their knowledge. We conducted a comprehensive and systematic search across various international electronic databases, including Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, as well as Persian databases such as Iranmedex and Scientific Information Database. We utilized keywords derived from Medical Subject Headings such as "knowledge", "nursing students", and "organ donation". The search spanned from the earliest available records to August 1, 2023. To assess the quality of the studies included in this systematic review, we employed the Appraisal tool for Cross-Sectional Studies. In total, 2,408 nursing students were in twelve cross-sectional studies. The average knowledge of nursing students in 10 studies regarding organ donation was 40.48 out of 100, which shows their low level of knowledge. The knowledge of nursing students regarding organ donation had a significant positive relationship with the attitude (n=3). Also, nursing students' knowledge had a significant negative relationship with unfavorable attitudes (n=1). Furthermore, the results showed that there is a significant relationship between the knowledge of nursing students and gender, and there is also a relationship between the knowledge of nursing students and their age (n=1). Therefore, policymakers and health managers can improve the knowledge of organ donation in nursing students by paying more attention to the factors related to organ donation knowledge such as age, gender, and attitude.