Social Madia Initiative May Help Increase Organ Donation Essay Example for Free

Social Madia Initiative May Help Increase Organ Donation Essay A new social media initiative helped to boost organ donor registration rates, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Transplantation. The findings suggest that social media might be an effective tool for tackling a variety of problems related to public health in which communication and education are essential. It suggests that social media and social networks may be valuable tools in re-approaching refractory public health problems. (Cameron, A. M. et al. , 2013). Attitudes towards tissue and organ donation have been frequently investigated. Studies, mostly conducted in the United States and Western Europe, have shown that people generally hold positive attitudes towards tissue and organ donation, but only a small percentage of the population really decides to donate them. Many non-donors still hold favorable attitudes towards donor behavior and realize the need for transplants but lack to act upon those attitudes and knowledge. In such situations, a person’s behavior can be influenced by promotion through persuasive messages. A multidimensional conceptualization of donor attitudes was proposed, implying that attitudes towards donation are best represented by two dimensions: one referring to positive aspects and the other to negative consequences of donation. Positive emotions concerning organ donation mostly arise from feeling of pride in being a donor and from the belief in the humanitarian benefits of organ donation, whereas the negative dimension reflects fears of body mutilation and of receiving inadequate medical treatment when ones life is at risk. Parisi Katz, 1986). Concerning organ donation appeals was found that the most effective measure for increasing donation rates was informational message, followed by emotional message, and a message addressing fear. (McIntyre, P. et al. , 1987). Organ transplantation is the most preferred treatment modality for patients with end-stage organ disease. There is an inadequate supply of cadaver organs commensurate with need. Health-care professionals are the critical link in augmenting public awareness about organ donation. Their attitudes and beliefs can influence the public opinion. Another study aims at understanding the awareness, attitudes, and beliefs among the medical postgraduate students. There was a statistically significant correlation between attitudes, beliefs and demographics (Bapat, Kedlaya, Gokulnath, 2010). Suggestions are offered to improve measurement strategy and to guide theoretically based organ donation research within selected disciplines of psychology (Radecki Jaccard, 1997). New strategies are needed to encourage organ donation. Altruism, the impulse that underlies our present system, is undermined by proposals that provide tangible inducements to improve donation which are, in their own subtle ways, coercive (Landry, 2006). Introduction Although the problem of shortage of tissue and organs in Romania has been acknowledged and approached in various ways, no proper methodical research in donor behavior has been done or systematic effort to promote such behavior and increase the number of donors. The main aims of research might be 1) to assess attitudes, knowledge, and intentions regarding donor behavior; 2) to assess the attitudes of health professionals towards tissue and organ donation, as well as their intentions to ask people about donations; 3) to develop two separate persuasive flyiers, one designed especially for the community sample to promote donor behavior, and the other one designed for health professionals to improve their willingness to ask people to donate; and 4) to test the persuasive value and efficiency of the flyiers in inducing and increasing donor behavior. Methods The study may be carried out in two parts. In Study 1, we assess attitudes, knowledge, and intentions about tissue and organ donation of 200 randomly chosen persons from the population of the capital of Bucharest, Romania, as well as of 100 health professionals in different hospitals in Bucharest. We also assess the willingness of health care professionals to ask their patients whether they may be willing to donate their tissue and/or organs. On the basis of attitude and knowledge analyses, two types of tissue and organ donation promotional flyiers are developed: one intended for the community sample and the other for health professionals. The Study 2, may be performed a year later, the leaflets are presented to another group of 100 persons from Bucharest population and 50 health professionals. We compare attitudes, knowledge, and intentions of community sample and health professionals presented with leaflets vs those not presented with leaflets, and assess the persuasive power of the two types of promotional material developed. Hypothesis The community sample presented with the leaflet in Study 2 may show significantly more positive attitudes towards organ donation when compared with the group not presented with a leaflet in Study 1. For health professionals, the Study 2 group presented with a leaflet might show a tendency toward less positive attitudes but significantly more positive intention than those in Study 1 not presented with a leaflet to donate organs. Discussion Presentation of flyiers succeeded in producing a tendency toward more positive attitudes and intentions toward tissue and organ donation. Still, a single presentation is clearly insufficient to produce significant change in all variables attitudes, knowledge, and intentions. The presentation of persuasive flyiers could be successful in improving the attitudes towards tissue and organ donation and increasing the willingness to donate. Obviously, a single presentation of the persuasive material may not be enough to make significant improvement in attitudes or intention to donate. Longerterm promotional interventions should be investigated as a potentially efficient method for increasing donor behavior.