Developing an Organ Donation Curriculum for Medical Undergraduates in China Based on Theory of Planned Behavior: A Delphi Method Study

BACKGROUND: Organ donation education as an important approach to improve support for donating, but it is inconsistent and unstructured. Therefore, the development of donation-related curriculum is essential, especially for medical undergraduates. This study aimed to define the fundamental contents for organ donation curriculum that could be useful for international organ donor agencies and educational institutions. MATERIAL/METHODS: The basic framework of the organ donation curriculum was constructed under the guidance of the theory of planned behavior in China. Then, Delphi method was used to modify and improve the contents by conducting 2 rounds of consultation with 22 Chinese experts from 6 professional fields. The surveys winnowed the list and assessed the accuracy and importance of each item. RESULTS: Response rates for the Delphi were 100.00% for the first round and 95.45% for the second round. A 3-layer curriculum system was developed based on 3 dimensions of the theory of planned behavior. The primary-layer items including the overview, cultural concepts, ethical issues, laws and regulations, medical knowledge, and psychological care in organ donation, elicited at least 85% of the experts to agree or strongly agree that the items were basic and core content for organ donation education. All of the 17 second-layer and 46 third-layer items also had 80% or more expert agreement. CONCLUSIONS: This study identified the contents of an organ donation curriculum for medical undergraduates in China, which would be useful for researchers and instructors in medical education. Determining the fundamental content of a donation-related curriculum is an indispensable step for implementation of organ donation education and promotion of organ donation.