The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #67383

Jennie P. Perryman, PhD, RN, Emory Transplant Center, Emory University, 1364 Clifton Road, NE, Atlanta, GA 30322, 404-712-4993, jennie_perryman@emoryhealthcare.org and Nancy J. Thompson, MPH, PhD, Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University, 1518 Clifton Road, NE, Atlanta, GA 30322.

Nearly 81,000 persons await an organ transplant, of which 52% are African-American (AA). With an increased incidence of end-organ disease in AAs, the need for donor organs is critical. During the 1990’s, outreach programs were initiated in Georgia targeting the AA community. The purpose of this study was to: (1) examine strengths and weaknesses of various analytic methods for comparing AA donation and transplantation rates in Georgia to national data, and (2) describe implications for use of these approaches as evaluation tools for policy and community planning initiatives. Measuring results based on percent of Black donors of total donors, Georgia ranked among the top five states nationally. Using rates of Black donors/100,000 Black population, Georgia fell to a ranking of 19th. When examining the waitlist dataset, Georgia’s rate of waiting per 100,000 AAs was almost 20% lower than the nation’s overall. Thus, while Georgia may not be maximally recruiting potential AA donors, data indicate that rates of AAs awaiting transplants are low. Further analyses of these findings are in process. A calculation of rate of Black deceased donors/100,000 Black deaths is being conducted to determine if deaths rather than population as a denominator changes the analysis significantly. Analysis of the end-stage renal disease (ESRD) dataset is underway to determine whether comparison of waitlist and transplant datasets to ESRD population changes outcomes. This presentation will (1) report results of analyses and (2) discuss recommendations for use of existing datasets in light of implications for donation policy, community planning, and educational initiatives.

Learning Objectives:

• Evaluate strengths and weaknesses of various analytic methods of assessing donation within the AA community.
• Describe implications for future use of these methodological approaches as evaluation tools for policy and community planning initiatives.

Keywords: African American, Evaluation

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.