Creating a Lung Transplant Program Search Tool Tailored to Patient Characteristics
1Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute, Minneapolis, MN, 2College of Design, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 3Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, Minneapolis, MN, 4Medical School, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 5Pulmonary Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, 6Nephrology, Hennepin Healthcare, Minneapolis, MN
Meeting: 2021 American Transplant Congress
Abstract number: 1209
Keywords: Lung transplantation, Outcome, Patient education
Topic: Clinical Science » Lung » Lung: All Topics
Session Information
Session Name: Lung: All Topics
Session Type: Poster Abstract
Session Date & Time: None. Available on demand.
Location: Virtual
*Purpose: Criteria for selecting lung transplant candidates and donors vary between programs and evolve as clinical practice advances. This variation impacts patient outcomes and the experiences of patients in need of lung transplant. Existing public reports, such as the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR) program-specific reports (PSR) are not easily interpreted by patients and do not offer customization to individual patients. We aimed to evaluate lung transplant patients’ feedback on prototypes of an online search tool that provides users with patient-specific information on waitlist and transplant outcomes from SRTR.
*Methods: We conducted 3 focus groups and 2 interviews with lung transplant recipients and candidates, respectively (n=22). Participants reviewed printouts of the SRTR PSR and prototypes of a patient-specific search tool to evaluate its efficacy for identifying variations between transplant programs that can improve access and reduce wait times (Figures 1). Participants were also asked to reflect on their own decision making and experiences when selecting a transplant program.
*Results: Feedback on prototypes of the patient-specific search was positive and included recommendations for improving the tool’s efficacy for decision making. Participants revealed a range of experiences related to healthcare decision making and patient education that bring into relief anxieties about accessing the transplant waitlist (Table 1). Knowledge gaps around candidate acceptance practices and apprehensions about having to relocate for transplant care compounded anxieties around decision making.
*Conclusions: Patients value a tool that communicates patient-specific information on program-level variations in waitlist and transplant outcomes and variations in donor acceptance practices. The patient-specific search tool will be available at www.transplantcentersearch.org.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
McKinney WT, Schaffhausen CR, Bruin M, Chu S, Snyder J, Hertz M, Valapour M, Kasiske B, Israni A. Creating a Lung Transplant Program Search Tool Tailored to Patient Characteristics [abstract]. Am J Transplant. 2021; 21 (suppl 3). https://atcmeetingabstracts.com/abstract/creating-a-lung-transplant-program-search-tool-tailored-to-patient-characteristics/. Accessed November 22, 2024.« Back to 2021 American Transplant Congress