Primary care interventions to encourage organ donation registration: a systematic review

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Previous research has proposed that primary care interventions to increase organ donation rates can help address the discrepancy between organ donation rates and the number of patients awaiting transplant. However, no systematic review has been conducted to examine interventions in this setting. OBJECTIVE: To synthesise evidence from previous organ donation interventions conducted in a primary care setting. METHODS: Six databases and grey literature were systematically searched between November 2016 and July 2017. Inclusion criteria included English language, studies published after the year 2000 and unpublished studies. A quality assessment and narrative synthesis was conducted. RESULTS: Ten studies met the inclusion criteria, nine of which examined actual organ donor registration as their primary outcome. Eight interventions increased registration to be an organ donor. Successful interventions utilised active methods of participant engagement that encouraged donation at the point of patient contact. DISCUSSION: Despite the small pool of studies that met the inclusion criteria, the results suggest that primary care interventions could produce promising results for increasing organ donation registration. However, additional higher quality studies are required before firm conclusions can be made. Barriers to implementation were also found and suggest that the feasibility of a primary care environment for organ donation intervention should be investigated.