Providing support to families considering the option of organ donation: an innovative training method

Withdrawn: Simulated Donor Family Encounters at Organ Transplantation Coordinators In-service Training Course: Process and Impact Evaluation

OBJECTIVE

The study was aimed at introducing the modified version of the organ transplantation coordinator course including simulated donor family encounters (SDFEs), communication skills, and evaluating the participants' opinions, achievement levels, and how they implemented what they learned in the course in their work settings.

METHODS

The course was modified using the ADDIE (analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation) model and was evaluated in three steps: The participants' views were obtained using the course overall evaluation form and communication skills evaluation form, their success was assessed with the post-test and SDFEs evaluation form, and the effects of what they learned during the course on their work settings were assessed through phone interviews. At this step, the participants were asked to write letters about the targets they intended to achieve in their work settings. The letters were analyzed with the content analysis method, and a questionnaire consisting of 105 targets was developed. A year later the participants were telephoned and asked to what extent they achieved their targets.

RESULTS

The participants' satisfaction from the whole course was high (x: 8.65 ± 1.06). In the communication skills evaluation form, the participants stated that they would mainly use their communication and empathy skills during donor family encounters. The participants' mean post-test score was high (x: 96.0 ± 3.8). During the SDFEs, 70% of the respondents' performance was considered sufficient. Telephone interviews conducted with the questionnaire revealed that 77.6% of the targets were fulfilled.

CONCLUSION

It can be said that the course affected the participants in terms of implementing their knowledge and communication skills related to family encounters.

Simulated Donor Family Encounters at Organ Transplantation Coordinators In-Service Training Course: Process and Impact Evaluation

OBJECTIVE

This study introduced the modified version of the Organ Transplantation Coordinator course including simulated donor family encounters (SDFEs) and communication skills. It also evaluated participants' opinions and achievement levels, and how they implemented what they learned in the course in their work settings.

METHODS

The course used the modified Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation model and was evaluated in 3 steps. The participants' views were obtained using the course overall evaluation form and communication skills evaluation form, their success was assessed with the posttest and SDFEs evaluation form, and the effects of what they learned during the course on their work settings were assessed through telephone interviews. At this step, the participants were asked to write letters about the targets they intended to achieve in their work settings. The letters were analyzed with the content analysis method, and a questionnaire consisting of 105 targets was developed. A year later the participants were telephoned and asked to what extent they achieved their targets.

RESULTS

The participants' satisfaction from the whole course was high (x: 8.65 ± 1.06). In the communication skills evaluation form, the participants stated that they would mainly utilize their communication and empathy skills during donor family encounters. The participants' mean posttest score was high (x: 96.0 ± 3.8). During the SDFEs, 70% of the respondents' performance was considered sufficient. Telephone interviews conducted with the questionnaire revealed that 77.6% of the targets were fulfilled.

CONCLUSIONS

It can be said that the course affected the participants in terms of implementing their knowledge and communication skills related to family encounters.

Providing social support in a persuasive context: forms of social support reported by organ procurement coordinators

Eighty-five organ procurement coordinators (OPCs) completed face-to-face interviews designed to elicit the emotional and instrumental social support strategies communicated to potential donor families throughout the request for deceased organ donation. OPCs identified six forms of emotional support and eight forms of instrumental support, with greater reported use of instrumental support strategies. In terms of instrumental support, OPCs most frequently ensured in-hospital comfort (61.2%) or met the nutritional needs of family members (51.8%). With respect to emotional support, OPCs most often expressed sympathy (31.8%) to families and provided support in the form of physical contact (27.1%) with family members. Identifying the forms of social support used by OPCs is a first step toward understanding the strategies that are more (or less) effective in achieving persuasive and support goals.

Difficult communication: compliance-gaining strategies of organ procurement coordinators

Organ procurement coordinators (OPCs) face a formidable communication task when making familial requests for consent to organ donation, because they must provide social support for grieving family members while seeking compliance to the donation request. Structured interviews were conducted with 102 OPCs, representing 16 organ procurement organizations (OPOs) (27.6% of national organizations) across the United States. Responses were transcribed and content-analyzed along four domain areas: (a) establishing credibility, (b) message strategies, (c) timing/setting of requests, and (d) adaptation of messages to diverse families. OPO conversion rates were used as a criterion factor for OPCs' persuasive communication success and regressed onto self-reported strategy use. Results indicate message strategies varied at the OPC level of analysis and 7 techniques significantly predicted 32% of the variance in conversion rates. Two strategies (i.e., gaining early intervention, approaching with additional support) positively influenced conversion rates, whereas 5 strategies (e.g., discussing benefits as a persuasive strategy, emphasizing the need for donation in particular racial/ethnic groups) negatively influenced conversion rates. Future research is recommended to validate the study findings toward the goal of improving OPCs' communication strategies.

Emergency nurse initiation of discussion about tissue donation with suddenly bereaved relatives

This service evaluation assesses the frequency of emergency nurse initiation of discussion about tissue donation with suddenly bereaved relatives. Data was retrieved from one accident and emergency department (A&E) in the North of England between January 2006 and December 2007. It is clear from the service evaluation that insufficient initiation of discussion occurs and a range of reasons for non-initiation are identified. Of concern here, non-initiation impacts on the potential number of people in the United Kingdom who could benefit by sustaining life or improving quality of life and nurses need to be encouraged to provide choices for the donor, their family and the recipient. Further, the findings have implications for training, mentoring and supervising emergency nurses, application of a written policy and scope for future research.