Peer Leaders Increase Organ Donor Designation Among Members of Historically African American Fraternities and Sororities.
Loughery C, Zhang N, et al.Progress in Transplantation 2017; 27(4): 369-376.
Aims
To test the efficacy of an organ donation education program within African American sororities and fraternities aimed at increasing donor designation registrations, and the change in attitudes toward donation.
Interventions
Participants were randomised to receive either organ donation content adapted to be appropriate for the fraternity and sorority setting (intervention group), versus a chronic disease education program built upon the two established programs, Body & Soul and Healthy Hair Starts with a Healthy Body (comparison group).
Participants
898 African American sorority and fraternity members in southern Michigan aged ≥ 18 years.
Outcomes
The primary outcome measured was the rate of registrations to the Michigan Organ Donor Registry between baseline and 1-year follow-up. The secondary measured outcome was the change in attitudes toward donation including general benefit, race benefit, general barriers and disparity barriers.
Follow-up
1 year
CET Conclusions
This cluster randomised controlled trial tested the effect of a peer-led, organ donation intervention on organ donation attitudes and intention to donate in members from alumni African American fraternity and sorority chapters. Power calculations showed the study needed to recruit seven chapters of 60 members per intervention arm to have 80% power to detect a treatment effect of 2-3% in Gift of Life registrations. The study recruited 898 participants from 25 chapters of whom 471 participants (52%) from 20 chapters completed the follow up survey. Those who dropped out from the study only differed with regards to gender but did not differ with regards to age, education, income, positive donation status or attitudes regarding organ donation at baseline. The results showed that among the 898 participants the odds of signing up to the donor registry were 1.45 times higher for the intervention arm compared to the control arm. However, attitudes towards organ donation did not differ between arms. The study had several limitations such as selection bias and a high number of dropouts.
Data analysis
Per protocol analysis
Trial registration
None