Assessing the Attitudes and Perceptions Regarding the Use of Mobile Health Technologies for Living Kidney Donor Follow-Up: Survey Study

Abstract

BackgroundIn 2013, the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network began requiring transplant centers in the United States to collect and report postdonation living kidney donor follow-up data at 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years. Despite this requirement, <50% of transplant centers have been able to collect and report the required data. Previous work identified a number of barriers to living kidney donor follow-up, including logistical and administrative barriers for transplant centers and cost and functional barriers for donors. Novel smartphone-based mobile health (mHealth) technologies might reduce the burden of living kidney donor follow-up for centers and donors. However, the attitudes and perceptions toward the incorporation of mHealth into postdonation care among living kidney donors are unknown. Understanding donor attitudes and perceptions will be vital to the creation of a patient-oriented mHealth system to improve living donor follow-up in the United States.ObjectiveThe goal of this study was to assess living kidney donor attitudes and perceptions associated with the use of mHealth for follow-up.MethodsWe developed and administered a cross-sectional 14-question survey to 100 living kidney donors at our transplant center. All participants were part of an ongoing longitudinal study of long-term outcomes in living kidney donors. The survey included questions on smartphone use, current health maintenance behaviors, accessibility to health information, and attitudes toward using mHealth for living kidney donor follow-up.ResultsOf the 100 participants surveyed, 94 owned a smartphone (35 Android, 58 iPhone, 1 Blackberry), 37 had accessed their electronic medical record on their smartphone, and 38 had tracked their exercise and physical activity on their smartphone. While 77% (72/93) of participants who owned a smartphone and had asked a medical question in the last year placed the most trust with their doctors, nurses, or other health care professionals regarding answering a health-related question, 52% (48/93) most often accessed health information elsewhere. Overall, 79% (74/94) of smartphone-owning participants perceived accessing living kidney donor information and resources on their smartphone as useful. Additionally, 80% (75/94) perceived completing some living kidney donor follow-up via mHealth as useful. There were no significant differences in median age (60 vs 59 years; P=.65), median years since donation (10 vs 12 years; P=.45), gender (36/75, 36%, vs 37/75, 37%, male; P=.57), or race (70/75, 93%, vs 18/19, 95%, white; P=.34) between those who perceived mHealth as useful for living kidney donor follow-up and those who did not, respectively.ConclusionsOverall, smartphone ownership was high (94/100, 94.0%), and 79% (74/94) of surveyed smartphone-owning donors felt that it would be useful to complete their required follow-up with an mHealth tool, with no significant differences by age, sex, or race. These results suggest that patients would benefit from an mHealth tool to perform living donor follow-up.

The Impact of the mKidney mHealth System on Live Donor Follow-Up Compliance: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

“…In formative research conducted at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, 95 of 100 LKDs reported owning a smartphone [31], which is consistent with Pew Research Center findings that 92% of adults in the United States owned a mobile phone in 2015 [32]. Among participants, 80% (80/100) thought that mHealth technology would be useful in completing follow-up [31].…”

“…In formative research conducted at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, 95 of 100 LKDs reported owning a smartphone [31], which is consistent with Pew Research Center findings that 92% of adults in the United States owned a mobile phone in 2015 [32]. Among participants, 80% (80/100) thought that mHealth technology would be useful in completing follow-up [31]. A pilot study of 69 LKDs found that engagement through short message service (SMS) text messages exceeded 80% at 2 years postdonation, compared with only 20% using traditional follow-up engagement strategies (ie, telephone; electronic medical record, EMR; or patient portal).…”

Perspectives on implementing mobile health technology for living kidney donor follow‐up: In‐depth interviews with transplant providers

“…surveyed at a single transplant center perceived mHealth for LKD follow-up as useful, and 79% of participants perceived accessing LKD information and resources on their smartphone as useful 29. These studies show that LKDs are willing to engage with mHealth technology, and use of mHealth for LKD follow-up would be feasible in this population if transplant centers were to design and implement mHealth systems.…”

Social Media Use Among Transplant Professionals in Europe: a Cross-Sectional Study From the European Society of Organ Transplantation

“…This has been shown to increase engagement and willingness among living donors. 16 An interesting finding of our survey was the awareness of social media's educational role among medical professions. Of survey respondents, 61% who were working in academic institutions connected through their mobile applications multiple times per day during scientific meetings.…”