Table of Contents
Is the "Gift of Life" a Resonant Frame?
A Comparison of Factors Involved in Non-Directed Kidney Donor Motivation for Social Workers and Nurses
Harry L. Humphries, PhD, Browyn K. Conrad, PhD, Kristen R. Humphrey, PhD, and Kathryn A. Giffin, BS, Department of History, Philosophy, and Social Sciences, Pittsburg State University; and Cheryl K. Giefer, PhD, APRN, Amy L. Hite, DNP, APRN, Irene Ransom Bradley School of Nursing, Pittsburg State University, Pittsburg, KS.
This research examines kidney donor motivations using a research design from prior investigations evaluating the persuasiveness of the National Kidney Foundation's (NKF) altruistic "gift of life" frame. Because previous studies produced mixed results, showing in particular substantially more support for material incentives among an international sample of nursing professionals, as compared to a convenience sample of college students, we compared in this study the motivations among practitioners in the fields of nursing and social work. A total of 159 social workers and nurses participated in a survey that addressed the relationship between material incentives, social distance and motivation to donate, as well as work-related burnout and compassion fatigue as structural factors that might reduce non-directed kidney donor motivation. The results show a significant negative relationship between altruism and donor motivation, as measured by social distance between donor and recipient, and a strong lack of support for direct cash incentives as a complement to living kidney donation. The results also show little support for the notion that compassion fatigue or burnout accounts for these results. Social workers are somewhat more altruistic than nurse practitioners but the differences between the two groups are not meaningful. However, low support for living donations to unrelated others, coupled with high support for limited material incentives for both groups, suggest a continued need to explore alternatives to the current framing of kidney donations as giving the "gift of life."
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What a Genetic Kidney Disease Does to Families:
An Invited Editorial by Suzanne Ruff
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Live Donor Kidney Transplantation Consensus Conference: Reducing Financial Barriers to Live Donation
Lara Tushla, MSW, LCSW, NSW-C, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL; James R. Rodrigue, PhD, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA; Dianne LaPointe Rudow, DNP, Recanati Miller Transplantation Institute, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, NY; and Rebecca Hays, MSW, APSW, NSW-C, University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, Madison, WI.
Live donor kidney transplantation is the best treatment for eligible people with end-stage renal disease. Unfortunately, living kidney donation rates have declined in the U.S. in recent years. To better understand this phenomenon, to identify opportunities to increase donation rates, and to promote best practices in live donor care, the American Society of Transplantation's Live Donor Community of Practice, with the support of 11 societies, convened the Consensus Conference on Best Practices in Live Kidney Donation in June 2014. The workgroup focused on reducing financial and systemic barriers to live donation, and had a multi-layered task: to review literature assessing the financial impact of living donation; to analyze employment and insurance factors; to learn from international models to reduce financial impact; and to summarize currently available resources. The group provided a series of clinical, programmatic, and policy recommendations to reduce financial and systemic barriers, with the overall goal of achieving financial neutrality for living kidney donations (LKD). In this article, we highlight systems-wide recommendations that would benefit from advocacy by nephrology social workers and their colleagues, and would ultimately improve clinical practice: policies to allocate resources to reduce donor financial burden, civil protections for donors, and a standardized, centralized financial resources clearinghouse.
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"Need a Ride?"
Improving Transportation to Dialysis Treatment (Part 1)
Julie Wilcke, Ride Connection, Portland, OR; Tia Henderson, PhD, MST, Upstream Public Health, Portland, OR; Valerie Small, MSW, LCSW, Fresenius Medical Care, Portland, OR; Yasuyo Tsumenmine, MA, MSW, LCSW, Fresenius Medical Care, Portland, OR.
This article describes a planning and evaluation process that identified existing challenges related to dialysis transportation in one Northwestern state. The strategies, best practices, and community resource ideas that came from participants in this process were numerous and can be grouped into four categories: education, advocacy, recruitment, and outreach. The planning process resulted in a transportation pilot project. Social workers developed and implemented these solutions. This process required making time, taking a step outside of one's normal caseload, and working with others to help implement change. The results offer promising practices that can be replicated elsewhere.
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Social Work Abstracts from the National Kidney Foundation 2016 Spring Clinical Meeting
April 27 – May 1, 2016
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