Communicating About Choices in Transplantation (COACH)

Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU)

Status: Completed

Conditions: End Stage Renal Disease and Kidney Transplantation

Treatments: Behavioral: COACH Program

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; Other U.S. Federal agency

Identifiers

NCT01853007

PD301152

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this study is to test the impact of a newly developed educational program on kidney transplant candidates' communication about living and deceased donor kidney transplantation.

Full description

The Communicating about Choices (COACH) in Transplantation program educates patients with end stage renal disease, who are waitlisted for kidney transplantation, about kidney disease and the risks, benefits and processes for both living and deceased donor transplantation. The program also teaches key communication skills needed to effectively initiate and manage conversations about transplantation.

Enrollment: 20 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Wait listed for kidney transplantation in active status
• Adult (at least 18 years of age)
• English speaking
• Capable of making medical decisions (i.e., not cognitively impaired)
• Non-institutionalized

Exclusion criteria

• Not listed for kidney transplantation

Trial design

Primary purpose: Health Services Research

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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20 participants in 2 patient groups

Usual care

No Intervention group

Description:

Patients in this arm will receive only the education offered by the transplant center, as required by Medicaid. Upon completion of all data collection activities, patients in this arm will be offered the program.

COACH Program

Experimental group

Description:

Participants randomized to the intervention condition will attend a COACH session held in a small group format. The session provides information on living and deceased donor transplantation (i.e., the processes, risks and benefits) and on the key communication skills needed to effectively initiate and maintain conversations about transplantation.

Treatment:

Behavioral: COACH Program