A Mosque-Based Qualitative Study on American Muslim Women's Organ Donation Beliefs

Muslim Americans' Views on Making Organ Donation Decisions in the Department of Motor Vehicles Setting

Introduction: Organ donation-related education is offered, and decisions are made at state Department of Motor Vehicles; however, little is known about Muslim Americans' attitudes toward these common practices. Research Questions: Are participants comfortable learning about deceased organ donation in the Department of Motor Vehicles setting? Are participants prepared to make deceased organ donation-related decisions at the Department of Motor Vehicles? Design: A survey of Muslim Americans attending an educational workshop at 4 mosques in two US cities. Primary study outcomes were self-reported (a) preparedness to make deceased donation-related decisions and (b) comfort with receiving organ donation education in the license renewal setting. We calculated Pearson product-moment correlations between these primary outcomes and participant characteristics including sociodemographic descriptors, religiosity and religious coping measures, and discrimination measures. Results: Most respondents indicated they were not prepared to make organ donation-related decisions at the Department of Motor Vehicles (79.6%). Preparedness did not vary by age, gender, country of origin or US residency duration, nor by religiosity, negative religious coping, or experiences of discrimination. However, higher scores on positive religious coping were associated with lower ratings of preparedness. A slight majority (58.9%) of respondents were comfortable receiving organ donation education. Conclusions: Muslim Americans are comfortable with learning about organ donation while at the Department of Motor Vehicles but are ill-prepared to make deceased donation-related decisions in the same setting. Further research is required to understand whether changes to the license renewal setting would improve decision-making outcomes in this population.

The double gender bias in parental kidney donation among Muslim Arab patients

Previous studies showed that it is usually the mother who agrees to donate her kidney to a child with an end-stage renal disease, while the fathers tend much less to donate. The present study sought to explore decision-making regarding which parent would donate a kidney to their child. Interviews were conducted with twenty-five mothers and six fathers who donated a kidney to their child. Analysis of the narratives reveals unwillingness to donate a kidney to a sick daughter and five reasons why mothers are more willing to donate than fathers. Our study shows that parents' patterns of kidney donation to their children powerfully demonstrate gender relations in Arab society and that culturally related matters have a significant impact on human organ transplantation, hence on quality of life and the chances of survival of nephrological pediatric patients. We recommend that the nursing staff enlist the help of Muslim clerics to increase the willingness of fathers to donate a kidney, for sons as well as for daughters. We call for designing education campaigns aimed at raising awareness and encouraging changes in the attitudes of the families of pediatric ESRD patients as well as of physicians.

Informing American Muslims about living donation through tailored health education: A randomized controlled crossover trial evaluating increase in biomedical and religious knowledge

Biomedical and religious knowledge affects organ donation attitudes among Muslims. We tested the effectiveness of mosque-based, religiously tailored, ethically balanced education on organ donation among Muslim Americans. Our randomized, controlled, crossover trial took place at 4 mosques randomized to an early arm where organ donation education preceded a control educational workshop or a late arm with the order reversed. Primary outcomes were changes in biomedical (Rotterdam Renal Replacement Knowledge Test living donation subscale, R3KT) and religious (Islamic Knowledge of Living Organ Donation, IK-LOD) living kidney donation knowledge. Statistical analysis employed a 2 (Treatment Arm) X 3 (Time of Assessment) mixed-method analysis of variance. Of 158 participants, 59 were in the early arm and 99 in the late arm. A between group t test comparison at Period 1 (Time 1 - Time 2), demonstrated that the early arm had a significantly higher mean IK-LOD (7.11 v 5.19, P < .05) and R3KT scores (7.65 v 4.90, P < .05) when compared to the late arm. Late arm participants also had significant increases in mean IK-LOD (5.19 v 7.16, P < .05) and R3KT scores (4.90 v. 6.81, P < .05) postintervention (Time 2-Time 3). Our novel program thus yielded significant kidney donation-related knowledge gains among Muslim Americans (NCT04443114 Clinicaltrials.gov).

Socio-Cultural Factors Contributing to Being an Organ Donor in Iranian Employees

AIMS

The purpose of this study was to use a culturally modified Organ Donation Model (ODM) to explore the significant factors and ways in which these factors could influence signing the donor card.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted among 600 employees from 57 offices in Hamadan, Iran, in 2018. Participants were selected randomly and surveyed on being a donor and their perceptions regarding signing the donor card. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was conducted to determine the inter-relationship between the studied variables.

RESULTS

Participants' mean age was 39.5 (SD = 7.0). 20% of participants had a signed donor card. Descriptive norms (β = 0.53, p < 0.001), non-cognitive beliefs (β=-0.33, p < 0.001), anticipated regret (β = 0.28, p < 0.001) and subjective norms (β=-0.17, p < 0.01) had significant direct effects on signing the donor card.

CONCLUSION

This study provides socio-culturally informed evidence on individuals' signing donor card. These factors could provide a guide to policymakers to develop the community-based interventions.

The impact of religiously tailored and ethically balanced education on intention for living organ donation among Muslim Americans

We tested the efficacy of religiously tailored and ethically balanced education upon living kidney organ donation intent among Muslim Americans. Pre-post changes in participant stage of change, preparedness, and likelihood judged efficacy. Among 137 participants, mean stage of change toward donation appeared to improve (0.59; SD ± 1.07, P < .0001), as did the group's preparedness to make a donation decision (0.55; SD ± 0.86, P < .0001), and likelihood to donate a kidney (0.39; SD ± 0.85, P < .0001). Mean change in likelihood to encourage a loved one, a co-worker, or a mosque community member with ESRD to seek a living donor also increased (0.22; SD ± 0.84, P = .0035, 0.23; SD ± 0.82, P = .0021, 0.33; SD ± 0.79, P < .0001 respectively). Multivariate ordered logistic regression models revealed that gains in biomedical knowledge regarding organ donation increased odds for positive change in preparedness (OR = 1.20; 95% CI 1.01-1.41, P = .03), while increasing age associated with lower odds of positive change in stage of change (OR = 0.98, 95% CI 0.96-0.998, P = .03), and prior registration as an organ donor lowered odds for an increase in likelihood to donate a kidney (OR = 0.22; 95% CI 0.08-0.60, P = .003). Our intervention appears to enhance living kidney donation-related intent among Muslim Americans [Clinicaltrials.gov number: NCT04443114].

The Development and Validation of the Islamic Knowledge of Living Organ Donation Knowledge Scale for Measuring Organ Donation Knowledge Among Muslim Communities

Introduction:

Studies around the world demonstrate that Muslim attitudes toward organ donation are closely tied to religion, but also that Muslim publics suffer from a lack of detailed knowledge about the Islamic perspectives on organ donation. Consequently, organ donation professionals and stakeholders are increasingly addressing knowledge gaps in the Muslim community through educational interventions. Yet, a measurement of Islamic knowledge of organ donation, and thereby the efficacy of such education, is not available.

Research Question:

To present the development and psychometric evaluation of the Islamic Knowledge of Living Organ Donation scale, designed to measure knowledge of the Islamic ethicolegal stances, and their underlying rationale, regarding living organ donation.

Methods:

Items were developed based on a review of Islamic juridical perspectives on organ donation, addressed knowledge gaps pervading Muslim communities, and pilot tested. The scale was statistically validated and psychometrically analyzed with a sample of 158 mosque-going Muslims in the United States.

Results:

The 9-item Islamic Knowledge of Living Organ Donation scale was found to be reliable (Cronbach α: 0.86), unidimensional, independent of religiosity, and predictive of social attitudes toward organ donation.

Discussion:

The survey can be used to validly assess Islamic knowledge of living organ donation among Muslim communities in research, educational, and clinical settings.