Intensive care unit nurses and adolescent donation and transplantation training. Scoping review

Background

The attitude and practise of intensive care unit nurses are crucial for organ donation and transplantation (OTD), for the time and communication they share with family members. Therefore, they can be excellent educators of adolescents, contributing to encourage the authorization of donation among those who represent the future of the community.

Objective

To describe teaching methodologies in DTO for adolescents and analyse their influence on attitudes, beliefs, knowledge and predisposition towards donation.

Methods

Scoping review using MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, Embase, CINAHL, and ERIC, between January 2022 and June 2023. No time or language limits were applied. Two independent investigators reviewed titles, abstracts, and full text according to inclusion and exclusion criteria.

Results

We analysed 829 abstracts from databases and 50 from citation searches, grey literature and the National Transplant Organization website. 16 articles were selected. The pre-intervention educational knowledge questionnaires showed no significant differences between groups in terms of knowledge and opinions on OTD, but post-intervention, different authors agreed on an improvement in knowledge, linked to less rejection of OTD and promoting a favourable attitude towards donation. None of the experts who gave the training were ICU nurses; only one was a transplant coordinator, but she did not indicate a care unit. In the interventions that had used some technological support (video, presentation, web, etc.), the results seem more favourable compared to traditional educational programmes (50% vs 14%).

Conclusions

Fifteen teaching programmes have been found to have favourable results on attitudes, beliefs, knowledge and willingness to donate. However, no validated instrument was used to measure these changes. The use of technology is related to better outcomes. No ICU nurses have been identified as trainers.