Abstract
Background: Media campaigns aimed at increasing non-living organ donors for transplantation have demonstrated increasing intention to donate in their target population, but their effectiveness for increasing donation rates is not clear. The largest broadcasting corporation in Chile conducted a one-year national mass media campaign (2016-2017) intended to decrease familial refusal to donation. It included prime time TV coverages, advertising with well-known personalities, web, radio, and social media content. In 2016 Chile reached an organ donation rate of 7.9 donors per million population (pmp) and 50% familial refusal; and in 2017, 10 pmp, and 46% familial refusal.
Methods: We used a quasi-experimental design of interrupted time series to analyze the effect of the campaign over organ donation figures, between 2016 and 2017 and between the year before and during the campaign, using ANOVA.
Results: For familial refusal we found no statistically significant difference between 2016-17, yearly (p=0,16), per semester (p=0,28), nor quarterly (p=0,54). Same happened when comparing the period of the campaign (year p=0,17, semester p=0,62, quarter p=0,39). Nonetheless, we found significant differences in organ donors for both yearly periods (p<0,01; p=0,01). Semiannually, we found significant differences just comparing calendar years (p=0,048), but not campaign years (p=0,09). We found no significant differences in the quarterly analyses (p=0,16; p=0,15).
Conclusions: Even though familial refusal did not change, organ donors increased. This, because more potential donors reached the donation request stage of the procurement process, which may have been due to more detection and referral, or better care of patients. Both things are healthcare professionals’ (HCP) responsibility, so maybe the campaign sensitized these professionals, but not its target population. Considering that the campaign had a cost of USD$ 10-20 million, media campaigns are attractive in the short run, but they are unsustainable and ineffective in the long run. Looking for other interventions, like those targeting healthcare professionals should be explored.