# Increasing Equity in Live Donor Kidney Transplant through Effective Patient-Provider Communication (EPPCom)

> **NIH NIH R01** · TEMPLE UNIV OF THE COMMONWEALTH · 2024 · $619,330

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Live donor kidney transplant (LDKT) is the preferred treatment modality for patients with chronic and end-stage
kidney disease. LDKT is less expensive than prolonged dialysis and offers improved mortality and morbidity
over either dialysis or deceased donor kidney transplants (DDKT). However, ethnic minorities have significantly
less access to LDKT than their White counterparts. Collectively, Blacks, Asians, and Hispanics represent
64.3% of the kidney transplant wait list, yet received only 36% of all LDKTs in 2019. Further, rates of LDKTs
have decreased for Black patients over the last decade. Decades of research point to patient-provider
communication as a contributing factor to observed disparities in health and healthcare outcomes. To date,
however, no attempt has been made to gauge the impact of the communication occurring during transplant
evaluation consultations on LDKT outcomes. The long-term goal of the proposed study entitled, Increasing
Equity in Live Donor Kidney Transplant through Effective Patient-Provider Communication, is to increase parity
in access to LDKT for Black patients. We propose a community-engaged, mixed-methods study employing a
concurrent triangulation design to identify the specific communicative behaviors that result in live donor
inquiries and evaluations, and actual LDKTs for Caucasian and Black patients, providing critical information to
the design of an intervention to improve patient-provider communication about LDKT. Specifically, we will
simultaneously quantitatively assess patient and provider factors with established and hypothesized
associations with receipt of LDKTs, and qualitatively assess discrete elements of patient-provider
communication occurring during transplant evaluation consultations for Caucasian and Black patients (Aim 1).
Brief quantitative surveys administered before and after medical consultations held as part of the evaluation for
transplant candidacy will capture providers’ (N=52) confidence and comfort discussing LDKT and patients’
satisfaction with the consultation, medical mistrust, health literacy, and LDKT knowledge, attitudes and
readiness. We will also audiorecord transplant evaluation consultations for 60 Caucasian and 60 Black patients
(N=120) across the two study sites – Saint Barnabas Medical Center (NJ) and Temple University Hospital
(PA), and qualitatively assess the communication occurring during the consultations. We will use the findings
to inform development of the content and format of a communication skills training for transplant providers and
evaluate the direct and indirect effects of the training on patient-reported and LDKT process outcomes (Aims 2
& 3). Intervening at the provider level is both practical, given that all transplant candidates already must
undergo this consultation, and efficient, given that a single transplant physician can evaluate >100 transplant
candidates per year. Thus, the results of this innovative study have the potential ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10854970
- **Project number:** 5R01DK134630-02
- **Recipient organization:** TEMPLE UNIV OF THE COMMONWEALTH
- **Principal Investigator:** Heather Marie Gardiner
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $619,330
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-06-05 → 2027-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10854970

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10854970, Increasing Equity in Live Donor Kidney Transplant through Effective Patient-Provider Communication (EPPCom) (5R01DK134630-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10854970. Licensed CC0.

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