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Report on Social and Behavioral
Interventions to Increase Organ Donation Grant Program 1999-2004
School-Based Interventions
Several interventions have focused on educating school-aged
children in high school settings. These educational interventions
have been done in three different contexts: health education
classes, driver’s education classes, and through the internet.
A traditional classroom-based intervention was conducted
in Buffalo18,
which began with the development of an organ donation curriculum
to educate teachers about the issue. The project then contrasted
the effect of having the project team lead classroom presentations
and discussions against teacher-led programs. Compared to
control groups, pre/post-test surveys demonstrated that both
groups did equally well in increasing student knowledge and
willingness to donate organs. Especially innovative was the
component that required students to interview their parents
about their views about donation. This part of the intervention
had a substantial impact on parents donation-related behaviors:
20% of parents reported having signed a donor card as a result,
with another 46% reporting that they would now “seriously
consider” becoming an organ donor. As with smoking cessation
and seat belt use, it appears that organ donation may be another
issue where young people have a strong influence on their
parents’ attitudes.
In the Washington, D.C. area19,
15 diverse schools participated in a drivers’ education program.
Half of the schools were assigned to a control condition,
while the other half received a 90-minute educational program
consisting of videos, presentation of factual information
about organ donation, and open discussions. Both groups were
given t-shirts and freebies for their participation in the
study. Results, however, were mixed. Both the control and
intervention groups increased in their intent to donate, as
measured by pre/post surveys. (Pre-test surveys were administered
two weeks before the intervention and post-tests were administered
immediately after the intervention.) However, knowledge did
increase in one set of intervention group schools (n = 5).
An educational web-based intervention20
targeting children was developed by a Michigan team. “The
Transplant Journey” leads users through the transplant
process, highlighting both information about human biology
as well as the impact of organ transplants on people’s lives.
Half the students were randomly assigned to a control group
and were directed toward a website that provided information
about the common cold. At the end of both educational units,
students (N = 490) were given the opportunity to follow a
link to the Michigan donor registry. Nearly 16% of the control
group students followed the link to the registry, while almost
22% of the intervention group students took the opportunity
to visit the registry. Although this difference did not prove
to be statistically significant, pre/post-test comparisons
on measures of knowledge, attitudes, and willingness to donate
all showed a statistically significant advantage for the intervention
group.
Other projects targeting school-aged children are currently
in progress. The findings from these three projects are somewhat
mixed and it remains to be seen which intervention elements
are associated with the most favorable outcomes.
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