Undergraduate Nursing Students' Knowledge and Perceptions of Renal Transplants
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Date
2012-06
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Publisher
The Ohio State University
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.
Description
second place at Denman Undergraduate Research Forum
Keywords
undergraduate nursing students' knowledge, undergraduate nursing students' perceptions, renal transplants