Effects of Humor in Health Communication: Experimental Evidence for Video Sequences Aiming to Increase the Willingness to Donate Organs

Humor has been proven to provide support when dealing with fear-related aspects of life. Therefore, it might be a useful communication strategy for addressing the need for donated organs. We conducted an experimental study among University students in Germany (n = 236) aged about 25 years (M = 24.60, SD = 5.86) investigating the effects of four video sequences related to organ donation on the willingness to donate organs. Based on random allocation, each study participant received one video sequence. The video sequences were presented by either a prominent or non-prominent speaker and included either humorous or neutrally framed information related to organ donation. An online survey was conducted before and after the intervention. A follow-up to investigate long-term effects was conducted 4–6 weeks later. Overall, the four interventions led to high proportions of self-reported willingness to think about organ donation and talk about it with relatives and friends subsequent to the respective intervention. Appraisals beneficial to organ donation improved significantly only in the non-humorous interventions. It seems to be of little relevance whether the humorous message was communicated by a prominent or non-prominent person. However, future investigations should focus on sample populations with lower education, because they are less likely to possess an organ donor card and more likely to have lower levels of positive attitudes toward organ donation and may, therefore, show different results regarding the effectiveness of humorous interventions.

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Abstract 16: Sex Disparities in Organ Donation: Finding an Equal Donor Pool

Circulation Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes ◽

10.1161/hcq.13.suppl_1.16 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (Suppl_1) ◽

Author(s):

Erika Yee ◽

Seyedeh Maryam Hosseini ◽

Bianca Duarte ◽

Shannon Knapp ◽

Nancy K Sweitzer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organ Donation ◽

Family Member ◽

Family Members ◽

Organ Donor ◽

Medical Mistrust ◽

Organ Donors ◽

Donor Pool ◽

Men And Women ◽

Willingness To Donate ◽

Amazon's Mechanical Turk

Introduction: The majority of living organ donors are women, and the majority of deceased organ donors are men. This poses a problem for transplant candidates who have worsened survival with sex mismatched organs. The objective of this study was to identify reasons for disparities in organ donation between sexes and identify strategies to increase organ donors. Methods: We conducted a fifteen question survey using a crowdsourcing marketplace, Amazon’s Mechanical Turk, in September 2019. The survey assessed how participants make decisions about becoming an organ donor. The survey was distributed to U.S. adult participants, including eight write-in questions and two Likert scale questions. Qualitative descriptive analyses were used to understand reasons for and against becoming an organ donor. Quantitative results were compared with t test. Results: Among the 667 eligible participants representing 49 states, 54.9% were women and 63.1% were in the 18-40 age group. The majority of men (64.8%) and women (63.4%) were registered organ donors. Among men and women donors, three themes guided their willingness to donate: desire to help others, personal experience with organ donors/recipients, and believing organs would have no use to the donor once dead. Among men and women non-donors, decisions were guided by three themes: no reason, medical mistrust, considering becoming a donor. Themes varied by sex when considering whether to donate organs of a deceased family member. Women were guided equally by two themes: family member’s wishes and believing the deceased family member had no further use for organs. Men had similar themes but valued the family member’s wishes more. Women’s willingness to donate their own organs to family members (p=0.03) and strangers (p=0.02) was significantly higher than men. Among non-donors, both sexes would consider becoming organ donors if more information was provided. Conclusion: In a national survey of adults, women and men had similar reasons for becoming and not becoming an organ donor. However compared to men, women were more willing to donate their organs and more altruistic in the donation of family members’ organs. Women’s deceased organ donation may increase with further communication of women’s wishes before death and by improved public education about organ donation.

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Trauma Patients’ Attitudes toward Organ Donation at an Urban Level I Trauma Center

The American Surgeon ◽

10.1177/000313481808400957 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 84 (9) ◽

pp. 1493-1497

Author(s):

John D. Cull ◽

Katarina Ivkovic ◽

Benjamin Manning ◽

Edie Y. Chan

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Organ Donation ◽

Trauma Center ◽

Family Members ◽

Organ Donor ◽

The United States ◽

Trauma Patients ◽

Willingness To Donate ◽

Patient Responses ◽

Level I

Many health-care workers (HCWs) surveyed at a trauma center believed their patients distrusted the organ allocation system. This study compares urban trauma patients’ (TPs) attitudes toward organ donation with attitudes from the 2012 National Survey of Organ Donation Attitudes (NSODA). TPs presenting to the trauma clinic between September 2014 and August 2015 were surveyed. Patient responses were compared with the 2012 NSODA. One hundred and thirty-three TPs (95.0%) responded to the survey. Compared with the 2012 NSODA, groups were similar with regard to a patient's desire for OD after death (Trauma: 62.4% [Confidence interval [CI]: 53.6–70.7] vs NSODA: 59.3% [CI: 56.6–61.8]) and the belief that doctors are less likely to save their life if they are an organ donor (24.8% [CI: 17.7–33.0] vs 19.6% [CI: 18.3–21.0]). Approximately, 30 per cent of patients believed discrimination prevented minority patients from receiving transplants (27.1 [CI: 19.7–35.5] vs 30.3 [CI: 28.8–31.9]). TPs were less likely than the NSODA group to donate a family members’ organs, if they did not know the family members’ wishes (56.4% [CI: 47.5–65.0] vs 75.6% [CI: 68.7–71.8]); TPs were less likely to believe the United States transplant system uses a fair approach to distribute organs (47.4% [38.7–56.2] vs 64.6% [CI: 63.0–66.2]). Adjusting for race, both groups were similar in their willingness to donate a family members’ organs; black TPs were less likely to believe the United States transplant system, which follows a fair approach in distributing organs (43.0% [CI: 32.4–54.2] vs 63.7% [59.7–67.6]). Despite HCWs perceptions, TPs had a positive view of OD. Educating HCWs on patient attitudes toward OD may decrease institutional barriers to OD.

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Short-term impact of introducing a soft opt-out organ donation system in Wales: before and after study

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2018-025159 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. e025159 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Jane Noyes ◽

Leah McLaughlin ◽

Karen Morgan ◽

Philip Walton ◽

Rebecca Curtis ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organ Donation ◽

Organ Donor ◽

P Value ◽

Short Term ◽

Consent Rate ◽

Potential Organ Donor ◽

Opt Out ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Before And After ◽

Donor Numbers

ObjectivesTo determine the short-term impact of a soft opt-out organ donation system on consent rates and donor numbers.DesignBefore and after observational study using bespoke routinely collected data.SettingNational Health Service Blood and Transplant.Participants205 potential organ donor cases in Wales.InterventionsThe Act and implementation strategy.Primary and secondary outcomesConsent rates at 18 months post implementation compared with 3 previous years, and organ donor numbers 21 months before and after implementation. Changes in organ donor register activity post implementation for 18 months.ResultsThe consent rate for all modes of consent was 61.0% (125/205), showing a recovery from the dip to 45.8% in 2014/2015. 22.4% (46/205) were deemed consented donors: consent rate 60.8% (28/46). Compared with the 3 years before the switch there was a significant difference in Welsh consent rates (χ2 p value=0.009). Over the same time period, rest of the UK consent rates also significantly increased from 58.6% (5256/8969) to 63.1% (2913/4614) (χ2 p value<0.0001), therefore the Wales increase cannot be attributed to the Welsh legislation change. Deceased donors did not increase: 101 compared with 104. Organ donation registration increased from 34% to 38% with 6% registering to opt-out.ConclusionThis is the first rigorous initial evaluation with bespoke data collected on all cases. The longer-term impact on consent rates and donor numbers is unclear. Concerns about a potential backlash and mass opting out were not realised. The move to a soft opt-out system has not resulted in a step change in organ donation behaviour, but can be seen as the first step of a longer journey. Policymakers should not assume that soft opt-out systems by themselves simply need more time to have a meaningful effect. Ongoing interventions to further enhance implementation and the public’s understanding of organ donation are needed to reach the 2020 target of 80% consent rates. Further longitudinal monitoring is required.

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Communication Apprehension About Death, Religious Group Affiliation, and Religiosity: Predictors of Organ and Body Donation Decisions

OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying ◽

10.1177/0030222818793294 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 81 (4) ◽

pp. 627-647 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Heather J. Carmack ◽

Jocelyn M. DeGroot

Keyword(s):

Organ Donation ◽

Online Survey ◽

Communication Apprehension ◽

Religious Affiliation ◽

Organ Donor ◽

Religious Group ◽

Group Affiliation ◽

Body Donation

Communication willingness has previously been identified as an important communication factor in influencing individuals’ decisions to become an organ donor. Missing from this conversation is the role of communication apprehension about death and its impact on donation decisions. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between communication apprehension about death, religiosity, religious affiliation, and donation decisions. Three hundred and thirty-three individuals participated in an online survey. Findings suggest that communication apprehension about death, especially communication avoidance about death, negatively impact donation decisions. In addition, religiosity and affiliation with a specific religion also negatively impact donation decisions. These variables were also predictors of organ and body donation. The findings show a need for more research on what prevents conversations about donation. In addition, the stark difference between organ donation likelihood and body donation likelihood underscores the need for communication scholars to examine communication about body donation.

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Effects of Information, Education, and Communication Training about Organ Donation for Gatekeepers: Clerks at the Department of Motor Vehicles and Organ Donor Registries

Progress in Transplantation ◽

10.1177/152692480801800414 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 18 (4) ◽

pp. 301-309 ◽

Cited By ~ 32

Author(s):

Tyler R. Harrison ◽

Susan E. Morgan ◽

Mark J. Di Corcia

Keyword(s):

Organ Donation ◽

General Public ◽

Behavioral Intentions ◽

Organ Donor ◽

Motor Vehicles ◽

Training Intervention ◽

The Public ◽

Before And After ◽

Driver's License ◽

And Behaviors

Context Clerks at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) serve as gatekeepers in the quest to fill organ donor registries. Most people who join organ donor registries do so through their local driver's license bureau. Objective To improve knowledge, attitudes, and behavior toward organ donation among DMV clerks, and to improve strategies for communicating with the public about organ donation, resulting in more people joining DMV-based organ donor registries. Setting DMV offices in 8 counties in a southern state. Participants A general survey of 1504 participants in 8 counties was conducted to assess knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors toward organ donation. All 76 DMV clerks in those counties participated in surveys before and after a training intervention. Interventions DMV clerks received a 1-hour training intervention focused on the nature of the new organ donor registry, information about organ donation, and communication strategies for interacting with the public. Main Outcome Measures Knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, and behavioral intentions toward organ donation were measured for the general public survey and for DMV clerks. Results Clerks were more knowledgeable about brain death and religious stances on organ donation than the general public, but otherwise both groups shared similar knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, and behavioral intentions toward organ donation. Overall the general public and clerks had favorable attitudes toward organ donation but low to moderate knowledge, beliefs, and behaviors and behavioral intentions. Training significantly increased DMV clerks' knowledge, attitude, beliefs, and behavioral intention toward donation. Organ donor registration rates were a mean of 14% higher in counties where clerks were trained than in control counties and were 9% higher than statewide. Conclusions Training DMV clerks is an effective way to increase knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs for gatekeepers of organ donor registries and may increase donor registration rates among the public.

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Communication as a Predictor of Willingness to Donate One's Organs: An Addition to the Theory of Reasoned Action

Progress in Transplantation ◽

10.1177/152692480801800408 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 18 (4) ◽

pp. 257-262 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Leo W. Jeffres ◽

Jeanine A. Carroll ◽

Bridget E. Rubenking ◽

Joe Amschlinger

Keyword(s):

Social Norms ◽

Organ Donation ◽

Behavioral Intention ◽

Behavioral Intentions ◽

Theory Of Reasoned Action ◽

Reasoned Action ◽

Organ Donor ◽

Willingness To Donate ◽

And Behavior ◽

The Impact

Fishbein and Ajzen's theory of reasoned action has been used by many researchers, particularly in regard to health communication, to predict behavioral intentions and behavior. According to that theory, one's intention is the best predictor that one will engage in a behavior, and attitudes and social norms predict behavioral intentions. Other researchers have added different variables to the postulates of attitudes and social norms that Fishbein and Ajzen maintain are the best predictors of behavioral intention. Here we draw on data from a 2006 telephone survey (N=420) gauging the awareness of an organ donation campaign in Northeast Ohio to examine the impact of communication on people's intentions. The current study supports the hypothesis that those who communicate with others are more likely to express a greater willingness to become an organ donor, but it expands the range of communication contexts. With demographics and attitudes toward organ donation controlled for, this study shows that communication with others about organ donation increases the willingness of individuals to have favorable attitudes about being an organ donor.

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The Effect of the Number and Identification of Recipients on Organ-Donation Decisions

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2021.794422 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Inbal Harel ◽

Tehila Kogut

Keyword(s):

Organ Donation ◽

Organ Donor ◽

Deceased Donor ◽

Combined Effect ◽

Deceased Person ◽

Willingness To Donate ◽

The Media ◽

The One

We examined how presentations of organ donation cases in the media may affect people’s decisions about organ donation issues. Specifically, we focused on the combined effect of the information about the number of recipients saved by the organs of one deceased person (one vs. four) and the identifiability of the donor and the recipient(s) in organ donation descriptions, on people’s willingness to donate the organs of a deceased relative. Results suggest that reading about more people who were saved by the organs of a deceased donor does not increase willingness to donate. Replicating earlier research, we found that reading about a case of organ donation involving an identified deceased donor, deceased willingness to donate. However, this effect was attenuated when participants read about more recipients who were saved by the donation. Importantly, the presentation that prompted the greatest willingness to donate a deceased relative’s organs was the one that featured an unidentified donor and only one identified recipient. Finally, an explorative investigation into participants’ subconscious thoughts of death following the organ donation story revealed that identifying a deceased organ donor prompts more thoughts of death in the perceiver (regardless of the number of recipients).

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Association between organ donation awareness and willingness among Saudi university students

Journal of Public Health Research ◽

10.4081/jphr.2022.2685 ◽

2022 ◽

Author(s):

Abdullah Ahmed Al Moweshy ◽

Eduardo L. Fabella ◽

Yasser Taher Al-Hassan ◽

Hassan Abdulfatah Alramadan ◽

Ali Jameel Al Abdullah ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

Organ Donation ◽

Positive Association ◽

Organ Donor ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Size Estimation ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Multi Stage ◽

Willingness To Donate ◽

The Government

Background: As the global incidence of end-stage organ failure increases, the gap between organ donors and recipients continues to widen. This study was conducted to determine the association between organ donation awareness and organ donation willingness among students of a Saudi university.Design and methods: This analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia. Multi-stage stratified random sampling was used to select the required 723 sample size. Estimation of proportion of students who were aware about organ donation and those who were willing to donate their organs was performed using EpiInfo© Version 7. Association between organ donation awareness and willingness was determined using multivariate logistic regression.Results: Nearly 98% of the participants were aware that organ donation saves lives (95% CI: 96.27%-98.53%); 84.09% were aware that Islam allows organ donation (95% CI: 81.25%-86.58%); 64.87% were aware that organ donation is successfully done in Saudi Arabia (95% CI: 61.32%-68.26%); 32.64% were aware that the government gives incentives to the family of an organ donor (95% CI: 29.32%-36.14%). Over half (56.71%) of the students (95% CI: 53.07 - 60.28%) expressed willingness to donate their organs. Positive association was found between awareness on the position of Islam on organ donation (OR=2.7023, p<0.0001) and awareness of that organ donation can be successfully performed in Saudi Arabia (OR=1.9447, p=0.0001).Conclusion: Awareness that Islam allows organ donation and awareness that organ donation is successfully done in Saudi Arabia increased the students’ willingness to donate.

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Feasibility and Enjoyment of Exercise Video Games in Older Adults

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igaa057.1838 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 559-559

Author(s):

Sara Freed ◽

Briana Sprague ◽

Lesley Ross

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Video Games ◽

Game Design ◽

Long Term Effects ◽

Short Term ◽

Qualitative And Quantitative ◽

Before And After ◽

Xbox Kinect ◽

Game Developers

Abstract Interventions using exercise video games, or exergames, have shown short-term cognitive and physical benefits to older adults, though long-term effects are less promising. Enjoyment of exergames may promote exergame use after the intervention period, though little work has examined older adults’ views of exergames before and after gameplay experience. We invited 20 older adults between 65 and 84 years of age (M=73.30, SD=5.95) to play two Xbox Kinect games, Just Dance and Kinect Sports Rivals, for twenty minutes. In our presentation, we will present qualitative and quantitative findings of this pilot study, including findings that older adults reported that they were not likely to play similar exergames in the future and that they did not find the exergames to be more fun compared to other ways of exercising. We will discuss implications for game design and research relevant to game developers, manufacturers, and researchers. Part of a symposium sponsored by Technology and Aging Interest Group.

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Long-COVID Syndrome? A Study on the Persistence of Neurological, Psychological and Physiological Symptoms

Healthcare ◽

10.3390/healthcare9050575 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (5) ◽

pp. 575

Author(s):

Graziella Orrù ◽

Davide Bertelloni ◽

Francesca Diolaiuti ◽

Federico Mucci ◽

Mariagrazia Di Giuseppe ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Sleep Disturbances ◽

Online Survey ◽

Clinical Presentation ◽

Demographic Data ◽

Severity Index ◽

Long Term Effects ◽

Targeted Treatments ◽

Euroqol 5D

Background: Emerging aspects of the Covid-19 clinical presentation are its long-term effects, which are characteristic of the so-called “long COVID”. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of physical, psychological, and sleep disturbances and the quality of life in the general population during the ongoing pandemic. Methods: This study, based on an online survey, collected demographic data, information related to COVID-19, sleep disturbances, and quality of life data from 507 individuals. The level of sleep disturbances and quality of life was assessed through the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) and the EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D), respectively. Results: In total, 507 individuals (M = 91 and F = 416 women) completed the online survey. The main symptoms associated with “long COVID” were headache, fatigue, muscle aches/myalgia, articular pains, cognitive impairment, loss of concentration, and loss of smell. Additionally, the subjects showed significant levels of insomnia (p < 0.05) and an overall reduced quality of life (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The results of the study appear in line with recent publications, but uncertainty regarding the definition and specific features of “long COVID” remains. Further studies are needed in order to better define the clinical presentation of the “long COVID” condition and related targeted treatments.

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