Uşak Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi

Abstract

Introduction

It is important and essentail to raise individual and social awareness in order to reach the desired level in organ donation rates. Various activities such as campaigns, seminars, conferences, training sessions and public service adsareheld by many institutions and organizations to raise public awareness about organ donation and promote the sensivity of this isssue. With public service announcements, to inform society on organ donation, to create awareness and to extend susceptibility on organ donation are aimed.

This study was carried out in order to determine whether or not public service ads prepared by the Ministry of Health and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) about organ donation have led to any awareness or attitude change on students. For this purpose, study is made to look answer for these questions:

1- Do public service announcements on organ donation create awareness on college-schoolers?

2- Does Ministry of Health develop an attitude on being watched of public service announcement and behavioral change on college students about watched public service announcements?

In study, it is aimed that to reveal rating of publicated public service announcements in Turkey on Organ Donation of Ministry of Health, whether public service announcements create awareness and whether positive behavioral attitude is developed after watched public service announcements. To determine how public service announcements of organ donation on behavioral change of audience is important in terms of bringing light to similar studies.

Methods

The sample of study is approximately 60 students from Uşak University, 110 students of Gaziantep University and 282 students from Selcuk University from different socio-cultural and socio economical classes. Non-probability sample is chosen as answers of participants will be analysed. Given survey form to participants is consist of 21 questions and 5 parts. Four questions which comprises of first part is prepared to evaluate demographic information; 3 questions which comprises of second part is prepared to evaluate waiting for organ and transplantation situations of participants and their relatives; 11 questions which comprises of third part is prepared to evaluate information level, association, favours and responses of participants on public service announcements for organ donation; one question that comprises of fourth part is prepared to evaluate watching rate of public service announcements; and 2 questions that comprises of fifth part is prepared to evaluate effect of public service announcements on organ donation behavioral change tendency. Collected datas are evaluated in consequences of frequency analysis, Chi-Square and applied t Test by using the programme of SPSS 22.0.

Findings

In study, it is determined that awareness level on organ donation campaigns prepared by Ministry of Health and Non-Governmental Organizations is 50,4 percent. Awareness level of women is higher. But, when examined watching rates of other campaign organized by Ministry of Health it is seen that organ donation public service announcements is second (Table 3). While watching ‘’Hayat Ver (Give Life)’’, in which mostly famuous people take place, audience wants to see people who are transplanted. It is seen that there is significant dispersion between men and women and it is determined that rates of women are higher. Participants says that given message in public service announcements, organ donation is for saving life. In study 69,1 percent of participants state that advertisement video on organ donation, which publicated on television and several channels of internet, reminds Ministry of Health and the fact that there is not significant difference between women and men is among obtained results. It is determined that acclaim level public service announcements on organ donation is 48 percent (The highest). It is revealed that participants would donate organs of their relatives in case of death rather than tendency of donating their own organs after watching public service announcement videos.

Conclusion

The results indicated that students were aware of social service ads about to stoping smoking and the Ministry of Health but not organ donation, therefore these social service ads were not persuasive enough about organ donation and they could not raise awareness on students. Besides, it is revealed that public service announcements on organ donation remind people Ministry of Health and do not remind of other important associations and organizations, participants prefer people who are transplanted in public service announcements rather than famous people and death of relatives because of organ donation is more effective than public service announcements. When evaluated results, it is seen that awareness level of organ donation public service announcements is low, public service announcements could not find target audience implicitly and they are not very effective on organ donation behavior. Accordingly, media planning of public service announcements on organ donation need to be made more feasible and watching rate need to be raised.