Investigation of attitudes of academic staff in HEALTH-related faculties on cadaver donation

Aim: The aim of this study is to examine the attitudes of academicians and research assistants who work in faculties of Health related to cadavers in education, and who have an action to guide the society, about cadaver donation. Material and method: Our study is in the type of descriptive research. In our study, in which quantitative research method was used, the data were obtained through face-to-face interviews with 214 academicians and research assistants working in faculties of İnönü University Health Sciences Institute. Categorical data are given as numbers (percentage). Pearson's chi-square test, Yatesin's corrected chi-square test and Fisher's exact chi-square test were used in statistical analyses, where appropriate. Cramer's V coefficient was used to determine the strength of the relationship between categorical variables. Results: Of the 214 academicians who participated in the study, 57% were women. The highest number of participants was from the medical faculty with 53%. 43% of the participants have not donated blood, 84% are considering donating in the future. 15.3% of them have not taken any initiative regarding organ donation, 65.7% of them are considering donating in the future. While 89.2% of the participants want to contribute to scientific studies, 12.1% think of donating their body for medical education. While 58.9% of the participants did not consider donating their bodies, 29% stated that they were undecided on this issue. 31.5% of those who did not consider donating used the phrase "I would like to be buried immediately after I die" as the reason for not donating. Conclusion: Academics in health-related faculties are willing to donate blood and organs, but most do not consider donating bodies. The reason for not thinking was mostly the desire to be buried immediately after death and not wanting to be cut and dismembered after death. While academics want an autopsy to be done for him, he does not think of donating a body. Keywords: Academician, Anatomy Education, Cadaver Donation, Health Sciences