Knowledge, Attitude, and Perception About Renal Transplantation of CKD Patients, Caregivers, and General Population

Introduction. In this study knowledge about kidney disease and the option of transplantation was assessed in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients and their care givers. Patients and Methods. A knowledge, attitude, and perception (KAP) questionnaire comprising 33 items was developed. It had 4 classes: knowledge of kidney disease (9 items), transplantation (10 items), attitude (6 items), and perception (8 items). There were 3 possible answering options (yes/no/don't know) indicating agree/disagree/no idea or optimal understanding/some understanding/no idea, allocating a score of 4/2/0, respectively. A higher score indicated good KAP. CKD patients, accompanying caregivers, and healthy controls from the general population were included. Results. In 218 subjects, 108 were CKD patients (78 pre-end-stage renal disease and 30 maintenance hemodialysis), 40 were caregivers, and 70 were controls. The majority had a primary level of education (52%) and earned low to middle income (67%). Only 34% claimed to have adequate knowledge; information sources were doctors (61%) and relatives (21%); 63% agreed to involve in transplant program; 58% had no knowledge about types of kidney donors; and 71% believed in no religious restrictions to transplantation. The average KAP score for all in total 25 scoring items (59 +/- 23) and separately in knowledge of kidney disease (75 +/- 34), transplantation (48 +/- 28), attitude (64 +/- 28), and perception (51 +/- 28) showed a generally low score especially in the field of transplantation. Education level (school vs. higher: 50 +/- 23 vs. 70 +/- 19, P < .001), income (low-middle vs. higher: 52 +/- 23 vs. 72 +/- 17, P < .001) and location (rural vs. urban: 53 +/- 19 vs.74 19, P<.001) conferred higher KAP scores. Conclusion. Knowledge, attitude, and perception towards renal transplantation is positively influenced by a person's educational level and economic status.