Determining the Relationship Between Death Anxiety and Decision on Organ Donation

Abstract

Introduction: Individuals' thoughts and concerns about death can affect the decision-making process for organ donation. Objective: This descriptive study aims to determine the relationship between death anxiety and decision-making for organ donation. Material and Methods: The population of the study consisted of individuals aged 18 and over from Turkish society. The study sample consisted of 232 participants aged 18 and over who could actively use the Internet and voluntarily agreed to participate. The study data were collected using the Thorson-Powell Death Anxiety Scale and the Organ Donation Decision-Making Questionnaire via the Internet between February and April 2021. Results: In this study, 84.5% of the participants were women; the average age was 30.14 ± 10.0. Participants' Thorson-Powell Death Anxiety Scale total score average was 43.95 ± 16.93. The Organ Donation Decision Making Questionnaire advantage score average was 24.57 ± 5.13, disadvantage mean score was 16.31±5.77, and decision mean score was 1.76 ± 0.92. It was observed that there was a positive and weak correlation (r = .20, p = .002) between the Thorson-Powell Death Anxiety Scale total scores of the participants and the decision score averages of the Organ Donation Decision Questionnaire. Conclusions: It was observed that the organ donation decisions of the participants with death anxiety were positive. It is recommended to carry out more studies and organize training programs to determine the factors that will affect the organ donation decision of individuals. Conducting qualitative studies examining beliefs about death and cultural factors in deciding on organ donation is recommended.