Deceased organ donation and health literacy

Background: Organ shortage remains the biggest challenge in transplantation worldwide. Principles of health literacy (HL) are used to aid individuals make informed decisions about their health. Methods: An observational, cross-cultural comparative, mixed-methods study design was employed involving three European countries (N=1111); The Netherlands (n=503), United Kingdom (n=312), Spain (n=296) consisting of patients, administrative staff and medical students. Empirical review of HL principles and each country’s national transplant organisation website were used to construct a DOD-HL questionnaire (DHQ). The DHQ was used to measure and rank each parameter of HL with respect to supporter-registrant profiling using descriptive and predictive regression analyses. Qualitative data from focus group interviews (N=9) added context to the DHQ results. Results: Support for DOD surpassed registration rates, in all three countries (p < 0.001***). Communication about DOD attitudes and wishes were generally positive and bidirectional. Willingness to grant consent was greater for close, compared to distant family members. Knowledge scores for DOD topics were negative in all three countries (p < 0.001). Participants were most knowledgeable on waiting lists and least knowledgeable on technical aspects and in-hospital protocols. Non-discussion behaviours, poor knowledge about common health related topics, older age and lower educational background were observed among non-supporters and non-registrants. Predictive modelling showed that the arrangement of top-ranking variables was different for ‘support’ and ‘registration’. Focus group discussions revealed utilitarian values and social responsibility as primary motivational drivers. Conclusion: The study validated that support for DOD does not directly translate into registration. Mapping individuals’ values, background, communication patterns and knowledgeability provides a greater understanding of the interplay between these variables. Health campaigns should focus on extending the use of HL principles beyond the healthcare setting to create a better culture of social awareness on DOD through targeted informativity and guided interactivity and translate inaction into action.Open Acces

Quality of Life Variables Assessment, Before and After Pancreatoduodenectomy (PD): Prospective Study

The treatment of pancreatic cancer is a complex problem, due to late diagnosis, the need for specialized surgical treatment, the large number of relapses and poor survival

Health Literacy and Official Websites about Deceased Organ Donation

Making informed decisions such as organ donation requires access to accurate, readily available and reliable information. One of the most easily accessible resources are the official national websites of countries around the topic of Deceased organ Donation (DOD). The content of the official organ donation websites in the UK (NHSBT), the Netherlands (ONT) and Spain (NTS) were analysed. This is a step towards finding the parameters of a health literacy agenda on organ donation and transplantation. Cross-comparative content analysis was employed and subsequently thematic analysis was used to locate themes and sub-themes in the sections of these websites and coverage of themes was assessed. The analysis was performed using Atlas.ti software in 2014-2016. The information provided in these websites were categorised in five themes consisting of Theme 1: Personal Values for Organ Donation, Theme 2: Facts on the Organ Donation Process, Theme 3: Registration Options, Theme 4: Communicating with Family Members and Theme 5: Promotional resources. Within themes 2 and 3, further sub themes were identified to explore the topic more fully. The information in the websites provides an overview of the main areas of organ donation in which the public is informed in different countries and highlights that changes need to be implemented in an individual, community and population level

Greek nurses attitudes towards death

Introduction: Several studies explore the attitudes of nurses caring for dying patients but this is the first one exploring Greek nurses’ attitude toward death. Purpose/Objectives: To assess how Greek nurses feel about death and examine any relationships between their attitudes and demographic factors. Design: Descriptive quantitative. The sample comprised of 150 hospital nurses (response rate 64%).Method: Voluntary and anonymous completion of the Death Attitude Profile–Revised (DAP-R), and a demographic questionnaire. The Death Attitude Profile–Revised (DAP-R) (Wong, Reker, & Gesser, 1994) is a 32-item scale that uses a seven-point Likert scale to measure respondents' attitudes toward death. Demographic data, including gender, age, previous experience working with terminally ill patients, work setting (inpatient versus outpatient), years practising as an RN were collected. No identifying information was collected from the participants, ensuring the results were anonymous. Results: 82% of respondents were female with a mean age of 35.54 years (19 min 48 max). The mean nursing experience was 12.1 years. Average scores on the DAP-R sub-scales ranged from 2.90 (escape sub-scale) to 5.63 (neutral sub-scale). Statistically significant relationships were noted among gender, and scores on the DAP-R. Nursing experience and age were the variables most likely to predict nurses' attitudes toward death. Nurses with specific education on palliative care had less difficulty talking about death and dying. The existence of Hospital-based teams (known as palliative care teams, supportive care teams, or symptom assessment teams) had statistically significant relationship with fear of death and neutral acceptance scores Conclusions: In Greek hospitals nurses with more work experience tended to have more positive attitudes toward death and caring for dying patients

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene/permethylated β-cyclodextrin) polypseudorotaxane and polyrotaxane: Synthesis, characterization and application as hole transporting materials in perovskite solar cells

International audienceNew phenothiazine derivatives are synthesized and proposed as high performance visible light photoinitiators