Assessment of Awareness, Knowledge and Attitudes about the Importance of Cadaver and Cadaver Donation: Report of Izmir, Turkey/Evaluacion de la Conciencia, el Conocimiento y las Actitudes sobre la Importancia del Cadaver y la Donacion de Cadaveres: Informe de Izmir, Turquia

The aim of this study was to evaluate the awareness, knowledge level and attitudes of the community in Izmir/Turkey about cadaver donation in medical education. A cross-sectional study was carried out. Randomly chosen 245 participants answered twenty items in the questionnaire providing information about their demographics (5 items), awareness and knowledge (10 items), and attitudes (5 items) about body donation. The questionnaire was applied face-to-face. Descriptive statistics presented. Student T test and One-Way ANOVA test were used for statistical analysis. 123 (50.2 %) participants were male and 159 (64.9 %) were between 30 to 59 years old. 185 (75.5 %) respondents knew what the word "cadaver" means. When asked where they would apply if they decided to donate their body, 104 (42.4 %) of the participants gave the answer "state hospital". The mean score of awareness and knowledge about importance of cadaver and body donation (AWKL-Score) was 0.41[+ or -]0.24 (min:0.00, max:0.90). AWKL-Score was statistically higher in the youngest (18-29 y) and oldest (>60 y) compared to the other age groups (F:4.115; p:0.007). AWKL-Score increased as the level of education increased. The highest AWKL-Score was at post-graduate level (Level 7,8) (F:22.997; p