title: Leading the flock: organ donation feelings, beliefs, and intentions among African American clergy and community residents.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Despite a considerable potential role in organ donation for African American clergy, there has been little investigation to date of the beliefs, attitudes, and personal intentions of such clergy regarding donation.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To compare the beliefs, attitudes, and behavioral intentions regarding organ donation among African American clergy to those of African American residents of the same large US city.
  
  
  METHODS
  Focus groups and 3 cross-sectional surveys.
  
  
  METHODS
  Greater Houston, Tex, metropolitan area.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 761 randomly selected African American community residents and 311 African American clergy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Beliefs about the importance of organ donation; how comfortable one is in thinking about donation; whether one believes that organ donation is against one's religion; trust in healthcare professionals regarding death declaration; concerns that donation leads to body mutilation; and the likelihood that one will donate one's own organs upon death.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared to general African American residents, African American clergy in the Houston area were found more often to believe in the importance of donation; to be more comfortable with thinking about donation; to feel more certain that donation was not against their religion; to believe that they could trust healthcare professionals regarding death declaration; to feel less often that donation leads to mutilation of the body; and to indicate a greater likelihood of donating their own organs upon death. The same was found to be true among clergy and congregants of the largest religious denomination in Houston, the Baptists.
authors.affiliation: LifeGift Organ Donation Center, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Kimberly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Holtzman
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Durand
authors.forename: Phillip J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Decker
authors.forename: Bryanne
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zucha
authors.forename: Lamon
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Atkins
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000193:education / Q000208:ethnology*; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D002977:Clergy / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003657:Decision Making; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D033182:Intention; D008297:Male; D010327:Pastoral Care; D024382:Professional Role / Q000523:psychology; D033303:Protestantism / Q000523:psychology; D012068:Religion and Medicine; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013781:Texas; D013850:Thinking; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement; D014505:Urban Population