Undergraduate Nursing Students' Knowledge and Perceptions of Renal Transplants

Abstract

Renal transplantation is viewed as the ideal form of renal replacement therapy for end stage renal disease. The nursing role is pivotal in the transplant process, enhancing the quality and longevity of life for transplant beneficiaries, through advocacy, direct patient care and education. However, nurses’ knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviors in relation to organ donation, allocation and transplantation have been fundamentally overlooked. Little evidence supports the current curriculum in preparing nurses for their vital role in the transplantation process. As future health care providers, nursing students’ opinions and knowledge regarding the process are vitally important in order to ensure the ability to fulfill professional responsibilities. This study seeks to examine undergraduate nursing students’ knowledge and perceptions of the renal transplantation process in relation to the content taught in U.S. undergraduate nursing programs. The survey encompassed eighty traditional undergraduate nursing students studying at The Ohio State University, including seventy-four females and six males. Of the participants, twenty-four were sophomores, twenty-five were juniors and thirty- one were seniors. Participant ages varied, with twenty-six students between the ages of 18-20, forty-six between 21-30, seven between 31-40 and one fifty-one and over. The study encompassed a single-group descriptive cross-sectional design. An investigator-designed survey containing 25 dichotomous items was used. The survey questions were selected from three previously implemented studies, including Trompeta et al., 2010, Rubens 1994, and Arriola et al., 2008. The survey was delivered electronically via the Checkbox survey site. Chi-square was used to analyze data with program level serving as the grouping variable. Of the 25 questions, four were shown to be statistically significant. Findings from this study can help inform nursing curriculum needs related to renal donation, allocation and transplantation.