Attitudes Underlying Corneal Donation in a Group of Trainee Allied Health Professionals

BACKGROUND: The focus of this study was to investigate factors that may influence personal willingness to register consent to donate corneal tissue upon death using the theory of planned behaviour in a relatively ethnically homogenous group of trainee allied health professionals. The attainment of this knowledge will be of paramount importance in relation to potential interventions that are designed to change donation-related behaviour. METHODS: A questionnaire-based study was undertaken with 92 pre-registration nurses (mean age 24.0 years (standard deviation ±5.6 years); female:male = 89:3) enrolled at a University in Northern Ireland. Intention to register consent to donate corneal tissue upon death was assessed using both direct and belief-based measures found in the theory of planned behaviour. Descriptive statistics were used to assess demographic information, with correlation and regression analyses being used to identify factors influencing intentions. RESULTS: The majority of participants were religious (94.6%, n = 87) and mostly Protestant (58.7%, n = 54) or Catholic (35.9%, n = 33). Generally speaking, the theory of planned behaviour accounted for 84% of the variance in intention to register consent. In relation to the constructs found in the theory of planned behaviour, attitude was found to be the strongest predictor of intention to register consent, with subjective norm being the second strongest predictor. Perceived behavioural control did not significantly predict intention to register consent. CONCLUSIONS: The theory of planned behaviour has allowed an understanding of the factors that influence the personal intentions of a group of future allied health professionals from the same ethnic group to register consent to donate their corneal tissue.