Home-based family intervention increases knowledge, communication and living donation rates: A randomized controlled trial

Our aim was to develop and test an educational program to support well-informed decision making among patients and their social network regarding living donor kidney transplantation (LDKT). One hundred sixty-three patients who were unable to find a living donor were randomized to standard care or standard care plus home-based education. In the education condition, patients and members of their social network participated in home-based educational meetings and discussed renal replacement therapy options. Patients and invitees completed pre-post self-report questionnaires measuring knowledge, risk perception, communication, self-efficacy and subjective norm. LDKT activities were observed for 6 months postintervention. Patients in the experimental group showed significantly more improvements in knowledge (p<0.001) and communication (p=0.012) compared with the control group. The invitees showed pre-post increases in knowledge (p<0.001), attitude toward discussing renal replacement therapies (p=0.020), attitude toward donating a kidney (p=0.023) and willingness to donate a kidney (p=0.039) and a decrease in risk perception (p=0.003). Finally, there were significantly more inquiries (29/39 vs. 13/41, p<0.001), evaluations (25/39 vs. 7/41, p<0.001) and actual LDKTs (17/39 vs. 4/41, p=0.003) in the experimental group compared with the control group. Home-based family education supports well-informed decision making and promotes access to LDKT. A home-based family intervention is effective in increasing living donation rates and improving well-informed decision making among patients and their families regarding renal replacement therapies.

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