Increasing Organ Donor Designation Rates in Adolescents: A Cluster Randomized Trial.

Abstract

<i>Objectives.</i> To evaluate the effectiveness of video messaging on adolescent organ donor designation rates.<i>Methods.</i> We randomized adolescent driver education classes in Massachusetts, between July 2015 and February 2018, to receive 1 of 3 organ donation video messaging interventions (informational, testimonial, or blended). Adolescents completed questionnaires before and after the intervention and at 1-week follow-up; we compared their registration status at time of obtaining driver's license with that of a regionally matched historical comparison group.<i>Results.</i> Donor designation rates were higher for those exposed to video messaging than for the historical comparison group (60% vs 50%; <i>P</i> < .001). Testimonial (64%) and blended messaging (65%) yielded higher donor designation rates than informational messaging (51%; <i>P</i> = .013). There was a statistically significant messaging × time interaction effect for donation knowledge (<i>P</i> = .03), with blended and informational messaging showing more gains in knowledge from before to after the intervention (<i>P</i> < .001; <i>d</i> = 0.69 and <i>P</i> < .001; <i>d</i> = 0.45, respectively), compared with testimonial messaging (<i>d</i> = 0.09; <i>P</i> = .22).<i>Conclusions.</i> Testimonial messaging is most effective in producing a verifiable and demonstrable impact on donor designation rates among adolescents, and driver education classes are an efficient venue for disseminating organ donation messaging to youths.<i>Trial Registration.</i> ClinicalTrials.gov; identifier: NCT03013816.