Students’ Attitude Towards Assisted Reproductive Technologies: Comparison Between Students of Nursing and Medical Faculties
The aim was to assess the attitudes of students from the Faculties of Nursing and Medicine towards new assisted reproductive technologies.
Methods. A descriptive, cross-sectional study design was applied. The study was conducted in January to February 2016, at the Medical Academy of the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences.
The study population consisted of 4th-year students from the Faculty of Nursing (32.3%) and the Faculty of Medicine (67.7%), who have completed Nursing Ethics and Medical Ethics courses at the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences. In total, 248 students participated in the study.
Results. Students from the Faculty of Nursing, compared with students from the Faculty of Medicine, were more often in favour of the fact that new assisted reproductive technologies are a medical breakthrough (P < 0.001) and the science of new assisted reproductive technologies must continue to evolve (P = 0.037). Students from the Faculty of Nursing, in comparison with students from the Faculty of Medicine, were also more likely to disagree with the statement that the effects of new assisted reproductive technologies have not been sufficiently investigated (P < 0.001) and new assisted reproductive technologies are a new type of business (P = 0.019). They were also more likely to question the need for stricter control over the use of new reproductive technologies (P = 0.020). Students from the Faculty of Medicine, in comparison with students from the Faculty of Nursing, had a more negative view on the legalisation of euthanasia when thinking about the beginning and the end of life management ethics (P = 0.008).
Conclusions. The study participants’ overall attitude towards new assisted reproductive technologies was positive. Students from the Faculty of Nursing had a slightly more liberal view on artificial insemination technology than students from the Faculty of Medicine. Medical and nursing students held similar moral positions on the beginning and the end of life management issues, except the legalisation of euthanasia, where medical students had a more negative position.
Correspondence to M. Naginevičiūtė Department of Nursing and Care, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Eivenių 4, LT‑50161 Kaunas, Lithuania. milda.nagineviciute@lsmuni.lt