Published online Jun 18, 2023. doi: 10.5500/wjt.v13.i4.190
Peer-review started: March 2, 2023
First decision: April 13, 2023
Revised: May 4, 2023
Accepted: May 19, 2023
Article in press: May 19, 2023
Published online: June 18, 2023
Research has documented barriers to organ donation, including: (1) Bodily integrity; (2) medical skepticism; (3) “ick”-discomfort toward the process; and (4) “jinx”-superstitions regarding preparations toward death. Furthermore, emotional video messaging is impactful in increasing the intention to register. While the emotional video messaging used in the present study was found to increase the intention to register among the Hispanic population.
Given the backdrop of shortages of organ donations and the benefits of a more diverse donor pool. In New York City (NYC), a place renowned for its diverse population, our goal was to evaluate the effects of a brief educational intervention meant to increase organ donation intentions. Additionally, we wanted to learn more about the attitudes and beliefs of Hispanic inhabitants of NYC toward organ donation as well as the predictors of it.
We hypothesized that an educational video addressing commonly cited barriers to organ donation would help ease resistance and change attitudes regarding intentions to donate.
Data were collected using the online crowdsourcing platform CloudResearch targeting NYC residents. This study was approved by our Institutional IRB. Once consent was obtained and participants entered the survey, respondents were asked to report on demographic variables and their general impression of organ donation after death. Participants were then assigned at random to the video First condition, in which they saw a brief movie on organ donation before responding to the survey questions, or the Video Last condition, in which they answered the survey questions first and then watched the video. The five-minute intervention implemented was originally developed, tested, and found to significantly increase donation rates in a general population. The video presented a dialogue among twenty ethnically diverse individuals in terms of age and their experiences regarding organ donation, including donors, recipients, and loved ones of those who died while waiting for organ donation. Furthermore, the video has been found to elicit emotional responses and address concerns that are common barriers to donor registration.
Using a binomial logistic regression, the analysis provides information about the relationship between the effects of an emotive video and the intention to donate among Hispanic participants who were not already registered as donors. The willingness to go back and register was found to be significantly more probable for those who watched the emotive video before being asked about their organ donation opinions [OR: 2.05, 95%CI: 1.06-3.97] (as presented in Table 3). Motivations for participation in organ donation were also captured in Table 4, with many stating the importance of messages coming from “people like me” and a message that highlights “the welfare of those in need”. Overall, the findings suggest that using an emotive video that addresses organ donation barriers to prompt organ donation intentions can be effective among the Hispanic populous. Future studies should explore using targeted messaging that resonates with specific cultural groups, highlighting the welfare of others.
The wide variations in organ donation rates across the United States present both a problem and a chance. Our analysis has demonstrated that future campaigns must concentrate on densely populated, diversified locations with low donor rates if they are to boost organ donation registration. Educational initiatives that elicit strong emotions, address donor concerns, and take into account potential donors’ preferences must be conducted to increase the overall registration rate. By implementing these actions, we have the potential to significantly alter the situation and save the lives of thousands of people who pass away each year while awaiting organ transplants.
Future research should examine how video intervention affects actual donor registration to have a more thorough understanding of its effects. Although we used attention checks to confirm the accuracy of the data, it is advised that future research replicate our findings in various contexts.