The Effectiveness of The University Worksite Organ Donation Project Susan E. Morgan, Ph.D. Purdue University

University Outreach Opportunities Universities make great places for outreach activities Research shows that better educated people are much more receptive to the idea of organ donation. Similarly, younger people are more pro-donation than older people. Universities often have central, high-traffic areas and people have gaps in their schedules (unlike many other types of worksites)

Recruiting Universities Campus health services directors are often the best point of access. These are people whose job it is to promote health issues, so they have a “schema” for what you are proposing. They have an insider’s view of the best locations for outreach events. Your liaison may want to have hands-on involvement, but others will just want to review your materials before providing access. They may have to be the source of a request to access table space in the best areas.

What Type of Campaign Works Best? A well-designed mass media campaign would require less coordination with staff and volunteers, no need to buy freebies to give away at events. Our hope was that a media-only campaign would work well. Site visits put a “human face” on donation through the participation of volunteers and provides the opportunity for people to ask questions about donation.

Research Design Three quasi-experimental conditions: control, mass media, mass media-plus-interpersonal (site visits) Counterbalanced design by geography and urbanity Control sites: Penn State (north, rural), U of North Carolina Charlotte (south, urban) Mass Media Only: U of Arizona (west, urban), U of Alabama (south, rural) Mass Media-plus-Interpersonal: Rutgers U (north, urban), Texas A&M (west, rural)

Specific Media Campaign Strategies Design of the campaign Mass media condition: internal + purchased media Ads tailored to each site and specific knowledge gaps Featured the experiences of recipients and donor family members from each university.

MM + Interpersonal Strategies Added site visits to media component Volunteers (recipients and family members) + outreach staff Donor family quilt: Colorful, distinguished us from sales people, tells a personal and moving story Giveaways: Captured attention of passersby, provided opportunity to solicit questions about donation. Developed manual for outreach staff and volunteers on how to quickly and persuasively counter common myths

Site visits and donor quilt

Results of Campaign Dependent Measure #1: Signed organ donor card or donor registry form Mass media-only condition did not differ significantly in increasing the rate of signed donor cards from the control condition. The MM-plus-Interpersonal condition DID produce significantly greater success in increasing signed donor cards and registries.

Increase in Signed Donor Card Significant Time X Condition Interaction Wilks’ Lambda (2,1086) = .989, p < .000, partial η2 = .064.

Increase in Rate of Family Discussions Significant Time X Condition Interaction Wilks’ Lambda (2,1042) = .99, p < .01, partial η2 = .01.

Key Lesson #1: Events Well-designed, highly interactive outreach events held in high traffic areas staffed by people trained to respond to specific myths about organ donation are a key part of a successful campaign. Passersby get to ask questions that are specific to their own misgivings about donation. Need activities or freebies to generate interest

Lesson #2: Number of Visits Weekly or monthly visits on a rotating schedule probably work best University schedules are usually MWF and TTh. Alternate the event days: A Tuesday/Wednesday schedule should reach people with each type of schedule. 2-3 visits in one location is usually sufficient First visit: moderate response Second visit: greatest response Third visit: response tapers off, slightly less than first visit

Lesson #3: Regional Differences Regional differences are profound. We made a bigger “splash” in areas where we weren’t competing with a lot of other activities or media. Homogeneous areas seem to be more receptive to the organ donation message than diverse/urban environments (cynicism, medical mistrust, exposure to myths in the media)

Lesson#4: Use of the Media Press coverage is easier to get in smaller media markets (if event is well-designed). Media-based campaigns may be more cost-effective in smaller media markets where saturation can be achieved.