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Cannon RM, Goldberg DS, Sheikh SS, Anderson DJ, Pozo M, Rabbani U, Locke JE. Regional Social Vulnerability is Associated With Geographic Disparity in Waitlist Outcomes for Patients With Non-Hepatocellular Carcinoma Model for End-stage Liver Disease Exceptions in the United States. Ann Surg 2024; 279:825-831. [PMID: 37753656 PMCID: PMC10965505 DOI: 10.1097/sla.0000000000006097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/28/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This study was undertaken to evaluate the role of regional social vulnerability in geographic disparity for patients listed for liver transplantation with non-hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) exceptions. SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND Prior work has demonstrated regional variability in the appropriateness of MELD exceptions for diagnoses other than HCC. METHODS Adults listed at a single center for first-time liver-only transplantation without HCC after June 18, 2013 in the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients database as of March 2021 were examined. Candidates were mapped to hospital referral regions (HRRs). Adjusted likelihood of mortality and liver transplantation were modeled. Advantaged HRRs were defined as those where exception patients were more likely to be transplanted, yet no more likely to die in adjusted analysis. The Centers for Disease Control's Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) was used as the measure for community health. Higher SVIs indicate poorer community health. RESULTS There were 49,494 candidates in the cohort, of whom 4337 (8.8%) had MELD exceptions. Among continental US HRRs, 27.3% (n = 78) were identified as advantaged. The mean SVI of advantaged HRRs was 0.42 versus 0.53 in nonadvantaged HRRs ( P = 0.002), indicating better community health in these areas. Only 25.3% of advantaged HRRs were in spatial clusters of high SVI versus 40.7% of nonadvantaged HRRs, whereas 44.6% of advantaged HRRs were in spatial clusters of low SVI versus 38.0% of nonadvantaged HRRs ( P = 0.037). CONCLUSIONS An advantage for non-HCC MELD exception patients is associated with lower social vulnerability on a population level. These findings suggest assigning similar waitlist priority to all non-HCC exception candidates without considering geographic differences in social determinants of health may actually exacerbate rather than ameliorate disparity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert M. Cannon
- University of Alabama at Birmingham, Department of Surgery, Division of Transplantation, Birmingham, Alabama
| | - David S. Goldberg
- University of Miami, Department of Medicine, Division of Digestive Health and Liver Disease, Miami, Florida
| | - Saulat S. Sheikh
- University of Alabama at Birmingham, Department of Surgery, Division of Transplantation, Birmingham, Alabama
| | - Douglas J. Anderson
- University of Alabama at Birmingham, Department of Surgery, Division of Transplantation, Birmingham, Alabama
| | - Marcos Pozo
- University of Alabama at Birmingham, Department of Surgery, Division of Transplantation, Birmingham, Alabama
| | - Umaid Rabbani
- University of Alabama at Birmingham, Department of Surgery, Division of Transplantation, Birmingham, Alabama
| | - Jayme E. Locke
- University of Alabama at Birmingham, Department of Surgery, Division of Transplantation, Birmingham, Alabama
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Carter AJ, Qu H, Reed RD, Killian AC, Kumar V, Hanaway M, Locke JE. Interpersonal Connections Are Important for Virtual Kidney Transplant Educational Program Development. Prog Transplant 2023; 33:301-309. [PMID: 37936413 PMCID: PMC10842874 DOI: 10.1177/15269248231212905] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2023]
Abstract
Introduction: The Living Donor Navigator program is designed to mitigate disparities in living donor kidney transplantation, although geographic disparities in program participation were observed in the initial years of implementation. The purpose of this study was to understand participant perspectives regarding the use of a virtual option/alternative to expand program participation. Methods: Previous participants of the in-person navigator program were purposively sampled. Using the nominal group technique, a well-structured formative methodology to elicit participant perspectives, 2 meetings were conducted among transplant recipients and advocates (N = 13) to identify and prioritize responses to the question "What things would concern you about participating in a virtual and remote Living Donor Navigator program?" Findings: Mean participant age was 59.3 (9.3) years, and participants were 54% male and 62% white. Education levels varied from less than high school to master's degrees. Participants generated 70 unique responses, of which 36 (51.4%) received prioritization. The top 5 ranked responses of each nominal group technique meeting received approximately 50 percent (47.6% vs. 66.7%, respectively) of the total votes and described the potentially limited interpersonal connections, time conflicts, and differing content in a virtual navigator program compared to the in-person model. Discussion: These data suggest that previous participants were concerned with upholding the original design of the program, thus, virtual living donor kidney transplantation programs should aim to maintain interpersonal connections and consistency of content to ensure adequate programmatic engagement. Future research will focus on program fidelity independent of delivery modality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexis J. Carter
- Division of Transplantation, Department of Surgery, University of Alabama Comprehensive Transplant Institute, 510 20 Street South, FOT 749 Birmingham, Alabama 35294
| | - Haiyan Qu
- Division of Transplantation, Department of Surgery, University of Alabama Comprehensive Transplant Institute, 510 20 Street South, FOT 735 Birmingham, Alabama 35294
| | - Rhiannon D. Reed
- Division of Transplantation, Department of Surgery, University of Alabama Comprehensive Transplant Institute, 510 20 Street South, FOT 738 Birmingham, Alabama 35294
| | - A. Cozette Killian
- Division of Transplantation, Department of Surgery, University of Alabama Comprehensive Transplant Institute, 510 20 Street South, FOT 758 Birmingham, Alabama 35294
| | - Vineeta Kumar
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, University of Alabama Comprehensive Transplant Institute, 1900 University Boulevard, THT 643 Birmingham, Alabama 35233
| | - Michael Hanaway
- Division of Transplantation, Department of Surgery, University of Alabama Comprehensive Transplant Institute, 510 20 Street South, FOT 746 Birmingham, Alabama 35294
| | - Jayme E. Locke
- Division of Transplantation, Department of Surgery, University of Alabama Comprehensive Transplant Institute, 510 20 Street South, FOT 758 Birmingham, Alabama 35294
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Park C, Schappe T, Peskoe S, Mohottige D, Chan NW, Bhavsar NA, Boulware LE, Pendergast J, Kirk AD, McElroy LM. A comparison of deprivation indices and application to transplant populations. Am J Transplant 2023; 23:377-386. [PMID: 36695687 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajt.2022.11.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2022] [Revised: 10/25/2022] [Accepted: 11/26/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
The choice of deprivation index can influence conclusions drawn regarding the extent of deprivation within a community and the identification of the most deprived communities in the United States. This study aimed to determine the degree of correlation among deprivation indices commonly used to characterize transplant populations. We used a retrospective cohort consisting of adults listed for liver or kidney transplants between 2008 and 2018 to compare 4 deprivation indices: neighborhood deprivation index, social deprivation index (SDI), area deprivation index, and social vulnerability index. Pairwise correlation between deprivation indices by transplant referral regions was measured using Spearman correlations of population-weighted medians and upper quartiles. In total, 52 individual variables were used among the 4 deprivation indices with 25% overlap. For both organs, the correlation between the population-weighted 75th percentile of the deprivation indices by transplant referral region was highest between SDI and social vulnerability index (liver and kidney, 0.93) and lowest between area deprivation index and SDI (liver, 0.19 and kidney, 0.15). The choice of deprivation index affects the applicability of research findings across studies examining the relationship between social risk and clinical outcomes. Appropriate application of these measures to transplant populations requires careful index selection based on the intended use and included variable relevance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine Park
- Division of Abdominal Transplant, Department of Surgery, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Tyler Schappe
- Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Sarah Peskoe
- Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Dinushika Mohottige
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Duke University, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Norine W Chan
- Division of Abdominal Transplant, Department of Surgery, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Nrupen A Bhavsar
- Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA; Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Duke University, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - L Ebony Boulware
- Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Duke University, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Jane Pendergast
- Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Allan D Kirk
- Division of Abdominal Transplant, Department of Surgery, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Lisa M McElroy
- Division of Abdominal Transplant, Department of Surgery, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA; Department of Population Health Sciences, Duke University, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
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Cannon RM, Anderson DJ, MacLennan P, Orandi BJ, Sheikh S, Kumar V, Hanaway MJ, Locke JE. Perpetuating Disparity: Failure of the Kidney Transplant System to Provide the Most Kidney Transplants to Communities With the Greatest Need. Ann Surg 2022; 276:597-604. [PMID: 35837899 PMCID: PMC9463094 DOI: 10.1097/sla.0000000000005585] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The burden of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) and kidney transplant rates vary significantly across the United States. This study aims to examine the mismatch between ESKD burden and kidney transplant rates from a perspective of spatial epidemiology. METHODS US Renal Data System data from 2015 to 2017 on incident ESKD and kidney transplants per 1000 incident ESKD cases was analyzed. Clustering of ESKD burden and kidney transplant rates at the county level was determined using local Moran's I and correlated to county health scores. Higher percentile county health scores indicated worse overall community health. RESULTS Significant clusters of high-ESKD burden tended to coincide with clusters of low kidney transplant rates, and vice versa. The most common cluster type had high incident ESKD with low transplant rates (377 counties). Counties in these clusters had the lowest overall mean transplant rate (61.1), highest overall mean ESKD incidence (61.3), and highest mean county health scores percentile (80.9%, P <0.001 vs all other cluster types). By comparison, counties in clusters with low ESKD incidence and high transplant rates (n=359) had the highest mean transplant rate (110.6), the lowest mean ESKD incidence (28.9), and the lowest county health scores (20.2%). All comparisons to high-ESKD/low-transplant clusters were significant at P value <0.001. CONCLUSION There was a significant mismatch between kidney transplant rates and ESKD burden, where areas with the greatest need had the lowest transplant rates. This pattern exacerbates pre-existing disparities, as disadvantaged high-ESKD regions already suffer from worse access to care and overall community health, as evidenced by the highest county health scores in the study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert M Cannon
- Department of Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL
| | - Douglas J Anderson
- Department of Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL
| | - Paul MacLennan
- Department of Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL
| | - Babak J Orandi
- Department of Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL
| | - Saulat Sheikh
- Department of Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL
| | - Vineeta Kumar
- Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL
| | - Michael J Hanaway
- Department of Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL
| | - Jayme E Locke
- Department of Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL
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