Feasibility and acceptability of the TALK social worker intervention to improve live kidney transplantation

Abstract

Live kidney transplantation (LKT) is underused by patients with end-stage renal disease. Easily implementable and effective interventions to improve patients' early consideration of LKT are needed. The Talking About Live Kidney Donation (TALK) social worker intervention (SWI) improved consideration and pursuit of LKT among patients with progressive chronic kidney disease in a recent randomized controlled trial: Patients and their families were invited to meet twice with a social worker to discuss their self-identified barriers to seeking LKT and to identify solutions to barriers. The authors audio recorded and transcribed all social worker visits to assess implementation of the TALK SWI and its acceptability to patients and families. The study social worker adhered to the TALK SWI protocol more than 90 percent of the time. Patients and families discussed medical (for example, long-term risks of transplant), psychological (for example, patients' denial of the severity of their disease), and economic (for example, impact of donation on family finances) concerns regarding LKT. Most patients and families felt that the intervention was helpful. Consistently high adherence to the TALK SWI protocol and acceptability of the intervention among patients and families suggest that the TALK SWI can be feasibly implemented in clinical practice.