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Abstract
Research on organ donation suggests a strong association between family discussions about the issue and final organ donor status. However, very few studies have examined the factors that influence individuals’ willingness to talk directly to their family about this topic or the impact of these discussions. This investigation provides a partial test of a newly developed theory of information management to better understand the processes of family discussions about organ donation. Results from two studies generally support the utility of the theory in this context, suggest ways in which organ donation campaigns may improve their effectiveness, and recommend future directions for researchers in this area. Moreover, the data show differences across ethnic groups that support and extend past work in this area.
This study was supported by grant no. 1 H39 OT 00120-01 from the Health Resources and Services Administration's Division of Transplantation (HRSA/DoT), US Department of Health and Human Services; Susan Morgan (principal investigator). The contents of this publication are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of HRSA/DoT.
Notes
1. Diagnostics indicated large residuals for some indicator variables and recommended they not be included in the final estimation. Specifically, as listed in the Appendix, uncertainty discrepancy item 2, issue importance items 1 and 2, and outcome expectancy item 3 contributed significantly to model misfit. Removing these four items significantly improves, χ2=270.41, df = 4, p<.001, the fit of the measurement model, CFI=.94, RMSEA=.056 (90% CI=.047 to .064), χ2(df=161, N=342) = 332.31, p<.001. The structural model fit also improves, CFI=.93, RMSEA=.055 (90% CI=.048 to .064), χ2(df=166, N=342) = 344.12, p<.001.
