A renal transplant recipient's (RTR's) abilities to understand and implement medication education are very dependent on cognitive function and health literacy. The purpose of this study was to characterize cognitive function and health literacy statuses of RTRs at our center in the first weeks (wks) after transplant. Methods: We combined data from 2 studies at our center. In the first study, adult, 1st time deceased donor (DD) RTRs were consented between 4-8 wks. At wk 8, all RTRs completed demographic screening, Newest Vital Sign™ (NVS) test for health literacy and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) version 1. In the second study, adult, 1st time DD or living donor (LD) RTRs were consented at the 1st clinic visit. At wk 3, all RTRs completed demographic screening and NVS. At wk 4 all RTRs completed MoCA version 1 and were scheduled to complete MoCA version 2 at wk 8. Results: Fifty-four RTRs were included for analysis (1st study n = 36, 2^nd study n = 18 to date). Mean (SD) RTR age at enrollment was 54 ± 12 yrs, 56% were male, and 48% identified as Black, 41% White, 5.5% Hispanic and 5.5% Asian, respectively. English was spoken at home for 97% of RTRs, 98% of RTRs completed at least high-school, and 83% were DD RTRs. Overall, 22% of RTRs had NVS scores indicative of possibility of limited health literacy. Almost half (46%) of RTRs had MoCA scores classified as mild cognitive impairment (score < 26) at baseline. Of RTRs in the 2^nd study who also completed MoCA at wk 8 (n = 13), 31% had mild cognitive impairment scores at wk 8 vs 44% at wk 4 (n = 18). When comparing RTRs ≥ 60 yrs (n = 22) vs younger (n = 32), there were no significant differences in mild cognitive impairment scores at baseline (50% vs 44%, p = 0.65) or possibility of limited health literacy scores (27% vs 19%, p = 0.45). When comparing LD RTRs (n = 9) vs DD RTRs (n = 45), 22% of each group had possibility of limited health literacy scores, and mild cognitive impairment scores at baseline in 56% vs 44% of groups respectively. Conclusions: Mild cognitive impairment and possibility of limited health literacy, were common in our diverse RTR population. These findings allow us to better tailor our RTR medication education.

CITATION INFORMATION: Trofe-Clark J., Gbemudu W., Hamel S., Shults J., Neubauer R., Ryan S., Kaminski M., Sawinski D., Goral S., Bleicher M., Lim M., Bloom R., Reese P. Cognitive Function and Health Literacy Assessment Outcomes in the First Months after Renal Transplant in a Diverse Single Center Population Am J Transplant. 2017;17 (suppl 3).

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