Abstract:
BACKGROUND: In the history of medical science, cadavers were a precious resource for
both teaching and researching human anatomy and cadaver dissection has been an integral
part of anatomy teaching in medical schools around the world. Till date, the importance of
student- cadaver encounter remains paramount. However, anatomical institutes in Ethiopia
frequently report a gap between supply of bodies for dissection and demand. In order to
continue the invaluable educational experience of cadaver dissection, there must be research
on the ways of obtaining this precious anatomy education resource.
OBJECTIVES: To investigate knowledge, attitude and willingness to body and cadaveric
organ donation and their associated factors among health care professionals working at Jimma
University Medical Centre (JUMC).
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among healthcare professionals working
in JUMC. The study participants were selected using systematic sampling method. The data
were collected by using structured questionnaires and entered to Epi-Data version 3.1 and
were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. Descriptive statistics, chi square, and logistic
regression analysis were used for analysis and statistical significance was declared at p< 0.05.
RESULTS: A total of 296 healthcare professionals were included into the study out of whom
153 (51.7%) were male and 143 (48.3%) were female. The age of the respondents ranged from
21 to 60 years, with a mean age of 28.03±4.56 years.. One hundred ninety one (64.5%) of the
participants had adequate knowledge about body donation whereas about 233 (78.7%) had
adequate knowledge about cadaveric organ donation. Similarly, 138 (46.6%), and 164 (55.4%)
of the professionals had good attitude towards body and cadaveric organ donation,
respectively. Of the total respondents who showed good attitude towards body donation, about
half encourage it to be done in Ethiopia. The willingness to donate body was 63 (21.3%) and
the willingness to donate cadaveric organs was 117 (39.5%). The major factors that influence
knowledge, attitude, and willingness of health care professionals towards body and cadaveric
organ donation are sex, level of education, category of education, year of service, ethnicity and
marital status.
CONCLUSION: Healthcare professionals working at JUMC are well aware of body and
cadaveric organ donation although their attitude and willingness to donate are not as good as
their knowledge. Factors such as sex, level of education, category of education, year of service,
ethnicity and marital status affect the knowledge, attitude, and willingness to donate body and
cadaveric organ.
