Abstract :
Background: In India, many lives that could easily be saved are lost due to a paucity of donated organs. This trend could easily be reversed by educating the general public. Religious beliefs and religious leaders play an important role in the society. With a concept to educate the religious leaders, to strengthen the message of increased organ donation, a study was conceptualized to test the efficacy of such an intervention.
To study religious beliefs and organ donation among the heterogenous population of Maval Taluka.
A cross-sectional study carried out in the Department of Biochemistry, MIMER Medical College, Talegaon Dabhade, Pune.
Materials and Methods: An educational interventional study was carried out on four basic major religious groups namely Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Christian. Data was collected from 328 participants by visiting respective religious places. A ten-item self-structured validated questionnaire was designed to assess the knowledge and beliefs regarding organ donation. Pre-test was carried out to assess the basic knowledge on organ donation. Educational intervention regarding the benefits of organ-donation was done, followed by a post-test.
Statistical Analysis: The data was statistically analysed by ANOVA in SPSS software.
Results: The overall awareness on organ donation was increased by 22% after the planned educational intervention.
Conclusion: These results of the study showed a high degree of acceptance amongst all the groups & willingness for organ donation. Hence, such awareness programmes should be conducted at regular intervals on a large scale so that the problem of shortage of donated organs can be minimized.
Keyword :
Organ donation, Religious beliefs, Awareness, Religious views, Educational intervention.