Multimedia resources to support the recruitment of committed hematopoietic stem cell donors: Perspectives of the most‐needed donors

Abstract

Background: Recruitment of committed unrelated hematopoietic stem cell donors from the most-needed demographics remains a challenge for donor recruitment organizations worldwide. Multimedia resources are gaining attention as a modality to support recruitment efforts; however, there is a lack of guidance for the development of such tools. This qualitative study explores the perspectives of eligible stem cell donors on an educational whiteboard video about stem cell donation, generating insights into how whiteboard videos and related multimedia may be optimized for donor recruitment. Study Design and Methods: Eight semistructured focus groups were conducted with 38 potential donors from the most-needed demographics (young, male, and non-Caucasian) after they had watched a 3.5-minute whiteboard video explaining key concepts in stem cell donation (https://youtu.be/ V4fVBtxnWfM). Constructivist grounded theory was used to identify themes and to develop a framework for understanding participants' preferred features of recruitment multimedia. Results: Participants identified a range of features contributing to the effectiveness of recruitment multimedia, adding that the whiteboard video is an effective, integrated, and readily accessible format for supporting donor recruitment. Topics that participants felt are important to address include knowledge gaps regarding donation procedures, concerns about donor safety, and the particular need for specific donor demographics. Suggested avenues for improvement include the addition of donor/recipient/patient personal experiences, attention-grabbing hooks, and a call to action including opportunities for further learning.

Development and evaluation of checklists to support the recruitment of committed hematopoietic stem cell donors

“…The checklists also emphasized recruitment of the most-needed donors: young males and people from a diversity of ancestral backgrounds. This supports that the checklists contributed meaningfully to the observed recruitment outcomes and error reduction, and can be deployed a part of a larger effort (including training, 38 recruitment multimedia, [35][36][37]39,40 and key messaging) to support recruiters to realize best practices and recruit needed donor demographics.…”

“…There are several limitations to this analysis. With respect to the reduction in errors and improved donor recruitment outcomes seen post-implementation of the checklists, other variables may have contributed, including improvements over time to recruiter training unrelated to the checklists; additional experience accrued by each recruitment team; development of stem cell collection diagrams 35 and high-quality multimedia resources to support donor education 6,36,37 ; and the launch of a community of practice in stem cell donor recruitment in Canada, 38 in which all Stem Cell Club donor recruiters are members. Nevertheless, data from quantitative and qualitative analysis of recruiter feedback demonstrated that the checklists were frequently used as training and memory recall tools both before and at drives, including to guide recruiters to engage with needed donor demographics, deliver the information required to secure informed consent, and error-check registration and tissue sample collection.…”

“…42 We report an attrition rate of 30% post-implementation of the checklists, and further improvements are needed to reach the World Marrow Donor Association target of greater than 80% donor availability (less than 20% attrition rate). In addition to efforts prior to 6,36,37,40 and at time of recruitment (e.g., using these checklists) to improve knowledge and reduce ambivalence of potential donors toward donation, 18 efforts are needed downstream from recruitment to continue to engage and retain donors. The community of practice in stem cell donor recruitment in Canada has set reducing attrition as an objective, including collaboration with Canadian Blood Services Stem Cell Registry to incorporate multimedia resources into e-blasts sent to donors at regular intervals following initial registration.…”

Why We Swab: A library of stories in stem cell donation

“…[27][28][29][30] Each story was published alongside the storyteller's photos or videos, to support higher audience engagement. 31,32 Finally, stories incorporated considerations for the development of donor recruitment multimedia put forth by Li et al 23…”

“…[16][17][18][19] Stories told in a serious context can be applied to motivate health decisions, including on social media where they have the potential to easily reach younger donors. [20][21][22] In the context of stem cell donor recruitment, stories can be developed to incorporate considerations for donor recruitment multimedia by Li et al, 23 including the following: harnessing communication techniques considered effective by potential donors, addressing barriers and facilitators of donation, and integrating the stories with other content.…”