Increasing organ donation in Hispanic Americans: the role of media and other community outreach efforts.
OBJECTIVE
The growing demand for organs continues to outpace supply. This gap is most pronounced in minority populations, who constitute more than 40% of the organ waiting list. Hispanic Americans are particularly less likely to donate compared with other minorities for reasons that remain poorly understood and difficult to change.


OBJECTIVE
To determine whether outreach interventions that target Hispanic Americans improve organ donation outcomes.


METHODS
Prospective before-after study of 4 southern California neighborhoods with a high percentage of Hispanic American residents. We conducted cross-sectional telephone surveys before and 2 years after outreach interventions. Respondents 18 years or older were drawn randomly from lists of Hispanic surnames. Awareness, perceptions, and beliefs regarding organ donation and intent to donate were measured and compared before and after interventions.


METHODS
Television and radio commercials about organ donation and educational programs at 5 high schools and 4 Catholic churches.


METHODS
Number of survey participants who specify intent to donate.


RESULTS
A total of 402 preintervention and 654 postintervention individuals participated in the surveys. We observed a significant increase in awareness of and knowledge about organ donation and a significant increase in the intent to donate (17.7% vs 12.1%; adjusted odds ratio, 1.55 [95% CI, 1.06-2.26; P = .02]).


CONCLUSIONS
Focused donor outreach programs sustain awareness and knowledge and can significantly improve intent to donate organs in the Hispanic American population. These programs should continue to be evaluated and implemented to influence donor registration.
Division of Trauma and Critical Care, Department of Surgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California2currently with the Division of Trauma, Burns and Surgical Critical Care, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
Ali
A
Salim
Division of Trauma and Critical Care, Department of Surgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California.
Eric J
EJ
Ley
Division of Trauma and Critical Care, Department of Surgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California.
Cherisse
C
Berry
Division of Trauma and Critical Care, Department of Surgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California.
Danielle
D
Schulman
Division of Trauma and Critical Care, Department of Surgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California.
Sonia
S
Navarro
Division of Trauma and Critical Care, Department of Surgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California.
Ling
L
Zheng
Division of Trauma and Critical Care, Department of Surgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California.
Linda S
LS
Chan
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011845:Radio; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013690:Television; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult