Promoting Organ Donor Registration in Family Physician Offices

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Registration for Deceased Organ Donation; Organ Donation
• Interventions: Behavioral: Reception staff providing handout.; Behavioral: Mobile Tablet (e.g. iPad)

• Registration Number: NCT03213171
• Lead Sponsor: Lawson Health Research Institute

Brief Summary

This study evaluates the effects of using reception staff to prompt patients by providing a pamphlet and an opportunity to register in the waiting room via a mobile tablet on deceased organ donor registration rates.

Detailed Description

Background: There is a worldwide shortage of organs available for transplant, leading to preventable morbidity and mortality. While the majority of the general public in many countries support organ donation, actual donor registration rates are substantially out of step with these views. For instance, in Canada most Canadians support organ donation but less than 25% in most provinces have registered. The family physician office is a promising yet underused setting in which to address known barriers and facilitators to registration for deceased organ and tissue donation and to provide an immediate opportunity to register while in the waiting room for those wanting to do so.

Methods/Design: The investigators aim to evaluate the effects of having reception staff in family physician offices to prompt patients upon check-in with an educational pamphlet using a cluster, stepped-wedge randomized design. A mobile tablet will also be added to the waiting area to provide patients with the immediate opportunity to register. Family physicians are also provided with an educational booklet and encouraged to discuss organ donation with their patients. The investigators will use behaviour change techniques designed to address previously anticipated barriers and enablers to organ and tissue donation registration. The investigators will evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention conducted in six family physician offices in Ontario, Canada. Following a two-week baseline control period, offices will cross sequentially into the intervention arm in a random sequence at two-week intervals until all offices deliver the intervention (baseline + two weeks for each of six offices). The primary outcome will be the proportion of patients that have registered for deceased organ donation following in the 7 days following their office visit, using routinely collected registry data (i.e. administrative databases). The investigators will also conduct a qualitative post-trial process evaluation will assess reception staff and family physicians experiences with the intervention.

Discussion: Promoting organ and donor registration remains an important strategy for organ procurement organizations and patients worldwide. The results of this trial will inform a provincial roll-out strategy to promote organ donation in family physician offices.

Basic Information
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Recruitment & Eligibility
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Study & Design
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Trial Locations

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2017-07-06
• Study First Submitted QC: 2017-07-06
• Study First Posted: 2017-07-11
• Study Start: 2017-09-27
• Primary Completion: 2018-02-01
• Study Completion: 2019-04-01
• Status Verified: 2024-03
• Last Update Submitted: 2024-03-01
• Last Update Posted: 2024-03-05

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 6

Inclusion Criteria

• Patients that visited a family physician
• Patients that are at least 16 years of age with a valid health card (eligibility criteria to register for organ donation in Ontario)

Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria for Family Physicians (Cluster level)

Inclusion Criteria:

• Working at a site that sees at least 100 patients per week

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Exclusion Criteria

• Working at multiple sites that cannot be separated in analyses

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Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: SEQUENTIAL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Intervention	Mobile Tablet (e.g. iPad)	Reception staff providing handout; Mobile tablet that provides the immediate opportunity for patients to register in the waiting room
Intervention	Reception staff providing handout.	Reception staff providing handout; Mobile tablet that provides the immediate opportunity for patients to register in the waiting room

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Donor registration status at 7 days	7 days	Donor registration status (Yes/ Not registered)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Donor registration status at 30 days	30 days	Donor registration status (Yes/ Not registered)
Donor registration status at 14 days	14 days	Donor registration status (Yes/ Not registered)

Trial Locations

Locations (2)

City of London; 🇨🇦 London, Ontario, Canada

City of Stratford; 🇨🇦 Stratford, Ontario, Canada