Examining Differences in Predictors of African American, Caucasian, and Latino Young Adults’ Intentions to Register as an Organ Donor

Abstract

To date, African Americans and Latinos consent to organ donation at lower rates than Caucasians and are disproportionately represented on transplant waiting lists. However, limited work has investigated racial differences in predictors of organ donation registration. In this study, we examined racial differences in the antecedents of African American, Caucasian, and Latino young adults’ registration intentions using the theory of planned behavior, the noncognitive model, and perceived realism. Non-donors (N = 307) were recruited in a stratified random telephone survey. Results indicate that for African Americans, subjective norm, bodily integrity, and medical mistrust were the strongest predictors of registration intention. For Caucasians, attitude and subjective norm arose as key determinants of registration intention. For Latinos, attitude, subjective norm, and medical mistrust were the strongest predictors of registration intention. Consistent evidence for the independent predictive validity of perceived realism was also documented. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed, as well as avenues for future research.

Acknowledgements

An earlier version of this manuscript was presented at the 65^th annual meeting of the International Communication Association in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The authors would like to thank the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for funding this project.

Funding

This study was supported by grant #R39OT15493-02 from the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Division of Transplantation (HRSA/DoT), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The contents of this publication are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of HRSA/DoT.

Notes

^1. No racial differences were observed in regard to Grey’s Anatomy viewing, χ² (6, 301) = 6.65, p > .05. 205 participants (66.8%) reported that they have never watched Grey’s Anatomy. 54 (17.6%) participants indicated that they occasionally watch Grey’s Anatomy, 21 (6.8%) participants responded that they watch the show often, and 27 (8.8%) participants said they try to watch every episode.

^2. The poor reliability of medical mistrust was likely due to the fact that two of the three items for this scale were reverse coded (see Appendix). Considering our method of data collection (i.e., phone survey) it is likely that many participants may have misheard these questions, thus explaining the low reliability of this scale. As other studies (Morgan et al., 2008; O’Carroll et al., 2011) have found evidence for both the reliability and validity of this scale, we elected to include medical mistrust in our final analysis.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by grant #R39OT15493-02 from the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Division of Transplantation (HRSA/DoT), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The contents of this publication are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of HRSA/DoT.

Notes on contributors

Tobias Reynolds-Tylus

Tobias Reynolds-Tylus (M.A., University at Buffalo, The State University of New York) is a doctoral student in the Department of Communication at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research interests include persuasion, health communication, and media portrayals of hexalth.

Brian L. Quick

Brian L. Quick (Ph.D., Texas A&M University) is a professor in the Department of Communication and the College of Medicine at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research interests include health communication campaigns, media portrayals of health, and an examination of how individuals cognitively and emotionally process persuasive health messages.