Organ Donation Literacy Among University Stakeholders: A Cross-Sectional Study in the UAE

<ns3:p>Introduction University students, faculty, and staff in the UAE represent a diverse and educated community that can play a vital role in promoting awareness and acceptance of organ donation. Assessing their knowledge is essential to addressing misconceptions and fostering a culture supportive of organ donation. Objective The present study aimed to assess knowledge to determine the prevalence of personal or family history of organ donation; examine the association between socio-demographic factors and knowledge of organ donation; and identify predictors of knowledge among university populations in the UAE. Methods A cross-sectional survey using convenience sampling was conducted among university students, faculty, and staff at the three major universities in Ajman, UAE. A validated self-administered questionnaire comprising 11 items with a scoring system was used to assess the knowledge. Participants who scored ≤50% of the total knowledge scores were considered to have poor knowledge. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 29. Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, chi-square test, and logistic regression analysis to explore associations and predictors of knowledge. Results A total of 607 participants were included in the study. Among them, 70.8% had adequate knowledge about organ donation. Significant differences were found in the percentage of adequate knowledge across students, faculty, and staff (p<0.017), between the universities <0.001, and between colleges 0.003. Knowledge was significantly associated with a personal or family history of receiving organs (0.012) and with a personal or family history of donating organs (0.002). A higher likelihood of adequate knowledge was found among faculty compared to students (AOR, 2.668,95%CI: 1.095-6.502,p=0.031), participants from University Offering medical programs compared to those from other universities (AOR, 1.767, 95%CI: 1.028-3.038,p=0.039), participants from medical colleges compared to those from other colleges (AOR, 2.246, 95%CI: 1.079-4.674, p=0.031), personal or family history of donating organs (AOR, 0.258, 95%CI: 0.102-0.656, p= 0.004), and attitudes towards organ donation (AOR, 2.122, 95%CI: 1.381-3.259, p= <0.001). Conclusion The majority of participants (70.8%) had adequate knowledge, which was significantly predicted by occupation, university, college, history of organ donation, and attitude</ns3:p>