Preferences Of Recipients Research Articles

Does donor country impact the efficacy of health aid?: Evidence from the COVID‐19 pandemic

AbstractDuring the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic, many nations relied on unprecedented amounts of health‐sector aid to efficiently vaccinate their populations. These vaccines and supporting materials came from a variety of traditional and nontraditional donors, with the majority donor differing by recipient country. Previous research has examined the political benefits to donor states of providing health aid before and during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Less is known, however, about how recipients view health aid based on the donor and whether this impacts health aid resource use. This research aims to investigate whether recipient preferences over the source of health assistance affects the efficacy of aid, while using a novel vax‐score method to account for existing trends and predictors of vaccine uptake. Using COVID‐19 vaccine donation and uptake statistics collected by the Duke Global Health Innovation Center, the IMF, and the World Health Organization, we compare vaccine uptake across many vaccine recipient countries to investigate the impact of vaccine origin (Chinese vs. non‐Chinese source). We find that while increased donated vaccines per capita significantly raises the proportion of the population vaccinated at 12 months, the source of the donated vaccines has no impact. Previously reported recipient‐side concerns over vaccine origin have no impact on population‐level uptake at 12 months. Additionally, we observe that a vax‐score metric derived from vaccine uptake of a suite of childhood vaccines predicts COVID‐19 vaccine uptake beyond differences in GDP and GDP per capita. These results have implications for health aid policy and future research into foreign aid efficacy.

Designing an Entrepreneurial Model of Remote Communication Technologies in Clinical Medicine: A Qualitative Study

Background: Today, information technology has permeated all fields, transforming numerous aspects of our lives, while entrepreneurship has become increasingly essential. In medicine, the integration of this technology is becoming crucial. Objectives: This research focuses on designing an entrepreneurial model that leverages modern communication and information technologies in the health sector. By capitalizing on created opportunities, entrepreneurs can drive innovation, leading to cost savings, time efficiency, and greater access to health and medical services for people everywhere. Methods: In this qualitative study, the sample included faculty members from Iran University of Medical Sciences, selected through purposive sampling. Following this, the sample was expanded using snowball sampling, introduced through key experts, to include additional informed individuals. Data collection was conducted through semi-structured interviews with faculty members, experts, and knowledgeable individuals who were willing to participate. The interviews continued until data saturation was reached. Data analysis was carried out using content analysis, with coding performed using MAXQDA10 software. Results: After coding and identifying the main and sub-themes, content analysis was completed, resulting in 10 main themes and 57 sub-themes. All interviewees highlighted sub-themes such as "infrastructure and hardware," "internet bandwidth," "access to electronic health records," "equipment and supplies," "data privacy," "qualified physicians," and "counseling." Conclusions: When designing an entrepreneurial model in any region or country, it is essential to consider the existing needs and conditions, environmental demands, population characteristics, culture, habits, preferences of service recipients, infrastructural capabilities, governing laws, and security issues. Additionally, the model must incorporate specific leadership, management, and oversight to ensure it becomes a responsive and effective system.

Diversity-On: A Diversity-Sensitive Online Self-Help Program for Family Caregivers-A Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study.

Scientific research has consistently emphasised the high levels of stress encountered by family caregivers of individuals living with dementia. However, conventional self-help approaches remain underutilised. The 'Diversity-On' study addresses this issue. The study employs a storytelling approach to develop and evaluate an online self-help program that is participatory and diversity-sensitive, thereby ensuring congruence with diverse identities and lifeworlds. The study uses a mixed-methods design, comprising the allocation and implementation of the intervention, the development of stories, a process evaluation (N = 20) and an outcome evaluation (quantitative: N = 130, qualitative: N = 20). The study's primary focus is its comprehensive participatory approach, integrated throughout the research process. The study is dependent on the input of a number of stakeholders, all of whom are committed to advocating for the concerns of patients. Given its participatory methodology and intersectional perspective, the 'Diversity-On' study is anticipated to yield a number of significant outcomes. The study has the potential to empower family caregivers of individuals living with dementia who are under high stress, empowering them to take part in self-help groups despite multiple barriers, thus alleviating their burden. Additionally, it has the capacity to promote the well-being of caregiving relatives who are providing care and are experiencing high levels of stress. The study's objective is to maintain home care arrangements for as long as possible, in accordance with the values and preferences of care recipients and their families. The study intends to develop and assess a customised online self-help resource that is suitable for a diverse range of users and that remains accessible beyond the study period. The project is subsequently registered in ClinicalTrials.gov.

P-712 A national survey of women’s perspectives and experiences of pursuing donor eggs

Abstract Study question What are the experiences of women who consider a donor egg, and the outcomes of those who receive donor eggs for conception? Summary answer Of 255 respondents, 59 women (23.1%) were formally placed on a donor egg waitlist, despite 80.6% respondents considering donor eggs with an IVF clinic (166/206). What is known already There is a shortage of donor eggs worldwide. Oocyte donation is a treatment option that is increasingly used for infertile women, as seen through the percentage of patients undergoing IVF who are over 40 years. Previous international studies report oocyte donation recipients to be predominantly aged 34-40 years, white, nulliparous, well-educated, married and financially secure. Although there are records in Australia for the number of donor and recipient cycles undertaken, there is no published data on the number of patients considering a donor oocyte, or on oocyte donor waitlists. In Australia egg donation is altruistic, non-commercial and not anonymous. Study design, size, duration A 52-point online survey was distributed via social media to women in Australia who had ever considered or pursued donor eggs, or come to the end of their own IVF treatment. The survey was sent to all clinical members of the Fertility Society of Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) and available on the Victorian Assisted Reproductive Technology Authority (VARTA) website. The survey was open from 1 February to 30 April 2023. Hospital ethics approved. Participants/materials, setting, methods A cross-sectional, anonymous, online survey of women in Australia who were potential egg donor recipients. Survey questions included demographics, potential donor egg recipient preferences, IVF clinic experiences, barriers, any impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, attitudes around the reimbursement for donor eggs, and fertility costs already incurred. Responses were collected via the Qualtrics XM platform. Statistical analysis for quantitative data was analysed using Microsoft 365 Excel. Qualitative coding performed on the commentary in free text fields. Main results and the role of chance This study identified a large gap between those who considered a donor egg (80.6%), pursue a donor egg on an IVF clinic waitlist (23.1%), and those who actually received a donor egg. Of the 59/255 women who were placed on an oocyte donor waitlist at an IVF clinic in Australia, less than a quarter (23.1%) received a donor egg (13/58), with a pregnancy and live birth rate of 76.9% and 61.5%, respectively. Thus, of those that were on an Australian waitlist, one quarter received donor eggs, with over half of these recipients having a live birth. ‘Women preferred donor eggs from Australia than overseas, preferred an unknown donor from an IVF clinic program, and wished to know source information for themselves and children in the future. Attitudes towards financial reimbursement were generally positive towards compensation. Barriers to pursuing donor eggs included grief of loss of own fertility, cost, availability and time. When on an Australian donor egg list, many respondents still looked at other sources of donor eggs in Australia and overseas. Reasons women came off an Australian donor egg waitlist included receiving donor eggs and donor embryos elsewhere, including from overseas, as well as advancing age and expense. Limitations, reasons for caution Risk of respondent selection bias of those who chose to response to a public survey, with incomplete data for some respondents. Given survey in English, may have underrepresentation of some cultural groups and sampling a limited range of women from diverse social, economic and religious settings. Wider implications of the findings In this first paper of potential egg recipients’ preferences in the Asia-Pacific region, we have identified a gap where demand for donor eggs exceeds local supply. A majority of potential recipients would support financial reimbursement for eggs already cryopreserved by women initially freezing for own elective purposes. Trial registration number not applicable

One and the same or different? An empirical comparison of aged care recipient and non-aged care recipient preferences for quality of aged care amongst older Australians

The Quality of Care Experience Aged Care Consumers (QCE-ACC) is a new preference-based instrument recently adopted by the Australian government nationally as a new quality indicator for aged care. This study employed a discrete choice experiment (DCE) approach to develop an aged care user-specific value set for the QCE-ACC instrument. This is crucial for establishing the relative importance of key QCE-ACC dimensions for informing quality assessment and economic evaluation in aged care. We further empirically compared the preferences of aged care recipients and non-aged care recipients amongst the older Australian population (65 years and above) for quality of care experience using the QCE-ACC. A total of 201 older people (age 74.2 ± 6.2; 59.7% female) receiving aged care services completed the DCE survey between August and September 2022. The comparison of relative importance indicated some divergence in the preferences between the aged care recipients and non-aged care recipients. Amongst aged care recipients, being treated with “Respect & Dignity” was the most important quality of care experience defining dimension, with “Health & Wellbeing” ranked second and “Skills & Training” (of staff) ranked third. However, within non-aged care recipients, “Skills Training” (of staff) was considered the most important quality of care dimension. Distinction in the QCE-ACC utility weights distributions and mean values were also observed, suggesting that aged care recipients may have different opinions about the quality of aged care compared to those who have not accessed aged care services. The findings shed light on the unique preferences of aged care recipients, indicating that aged care recipients and non-aged care recipients’ preferences for quality of aged care are not interchangeable. The value set developed in this study is specifically tailored for assessing the quality of aged care using the QCE-ACC instrument from the perspective of aged care users in Australia.

Precision feedback: A conceptual model.

When performance data are provided as feedback to healthcare professionals, they may use it to significantly improve care quality. However, the question of how to provide effective feedback remains unanswered, as decades of evidence have produced a consistent pattern of effects-with wide variation. From a coaching perspective, feedback is often based on a learner's objectives and goals. Furthermore, when coaches provide feedback, it is ideally informed by their understanding of the learner's needs and motivation. We anticipate that a "coaching"-informed approach to feedback may improve its effectiveness in two ways. First, by aligning feedback with healthcare professionals' chosen goals and objectives, and second, by enabling large-scale feedback systems to use new types of data to learn what kind of performance information is motivating in general. Our objective is to propose a conceptual model of precision feedback to support these anticipated enhancements to feedback interventions. We iteratively represented models of feedback's influence from theories of motivation and behavior change, visualization, and human-computer interaction. Through cycles of discussion and reflection, application to clinical examples, and software development, we implemented and refined the models in a software application to generate precision feedback messages from performance data for anesthesia providers. We propose that precision feedback is feedback that is prioritized according to its motivational potential for a specific recipient. We identified three factors that influence motivational potential: (1) the motivating information in a recipient's performance data, (2) the surprisingness of the motivating information, and (3) a recipient's preferences for motivating information and its visual display. We propose a model of precision feedback that is aligned with leading theories of feedback interventions to support learning about the success of feedback interventions. We plan to evaluate this model in a randomized controlled trial of a precision feedback system that enhances feedback emails to anesthesia providers.

Health literacy, eHealth literacy and their association with burden, distress, and self-efficacy among cancer caregivers.

Health literacy skills are vital for cancer caregivers in helping cancer survivors to navigate their diagnosis, treatment, and recovery but little is known. This study explored health literacy and eHealth literacy among cancer caregivers and the relationship between health literacy/eHealth literacy and potential associated factors. Informal caregivers who had cared for an individual with cancer completed a survey which collected demographic data and measured caregiver health literacy, eHealth literacy, self-efficacy, burden, and distress. Seven percent of caregivers had inadequate health literacy. Caregivers scored lowest on health literacy domains related to caregiver social support, information seeking and understanding care recipient preferences. eHealth literacy was associated with self-efficacy and burden while, different health literacy domains were associated with burden ('Understanding care recipient needs and preferences'), self-efficacy ('Cancer-related communication with the care recipient' and 'Understanding care recipients needs and preferences') and distress ('Proactivity and determination to seek information', 'Understanding care recipient needs and preferences', 'Understanding the healthcare system'). Findings highlight key areas of need regarding cancer caregiver health literacy which future research can target. Given the observed relationship between aspects of health literacy and burden, distress and self-efficacy future work could be carried out on how to alleviate high levels of burden and distress and how to enhance self-efficacy among cancer caregivers by addressing health literacy skills. Findings from this study will inform the development of health literacy interventions to support caregivers to build their health literacy skills and enable this group to better support cancer survivors as a result.

The Effectiveness of Whatsapp in Disseminating Work-Related Information: The Case of UPTM

In today’s digital age, WhatsApp, an instant messaging application has been extensively utilized in people’s daily lives, especially at work. Previous study shows that the use of instant messaging enables the workers to communicate better in a workplace. Hence, this study aims to examine the effectiveness and impact of WhatsApp as a communication tool for disseminating work-related information within an organization. This study employs a quantitative method approach to collect data where survey questionnaires are distributed to the employees across faculties and departments in Universiti Poly-Tech Malaysia (UPTM). The factors investigated include speed, accessibility, clarity and overall satisfaction among UPTM employees in navigating WhatsApp to discuss work-related information. The results of this study complement the existing literature on organizational communication and technology adoption which are fruitful for both employers and employees. Overall, the study outlines best practices recommendations to optimize the use of WhatsApp as a communication tool within an institution by taking into account key factors such as message content, timing and recipient preferences.

Acceptability, values, and preferences of older people for chronic low back pain management; a qualitative evidence synthesis

BackgroundChronic primary low back pain (CPLBP) and other musculoskeletal conditions represent a sizable attribution to the global burden of disability, with rates greatest in older age. There are multiple and varied interventions for CPLBP, delivered by a wide range of health and care workers. However, it is not known if these are acceptable to or align with the values and preferences of care recipients. The objective of this synthesis was to understand the key factors influencing the acceptability of, and values and preferences for, interventions/care for CPLBP from the perspective of people over 60 and their caregivers.MethodsWe searched MEDLINE, CINAHL and OpenAlex, for eligible studies from inception until April 2022. We included studies that used qualitative methods for data collection and analysis; explored the perceptions and experiences of older people and their caregivers about interventions to treat CPLBP; from any setting globally. We conducted a best fit framework synthesis using a framework developed specifically for this review. We assessed our certainty in the findings using GRADE-CERQual.ResultsAll 22 included studies represented older people’s experiences and had representation across a range of geographies and economic contexts. No studies were identified on caregivers. Older people living with CPLBP express values and preferences for their care that relate to therapeutic encounters and the importance of therapeutic alliance, irrespective of the type of treatment, choice of intervention, and intervention delivery modalities. Older people with CPLBP value therapeutic encounters that validate, legitimise, and respect their pain experience, consider their context holistically, prioritise their needs and preferences, adopt a person-centred and tailored approach to care, and are supported by interprofessional communication. Older people valued care that provided benefit to them, included interventions beyond analgesic medicines alone and was financially and geographically accessible.ConclusionsThese findings provide critical context to the implementation of clinical guidelines into practice, particularly related to how care providers interact with older people and how components of care are delivered, their location and their cost. Further research is needed focusing on low- and middle-income settings, vulnerable populations, and caregivers.

ONEIDA HELPING ONEIDA: DECISION MAKING ABOUT SERVICE USE BY ONEIDA NATION FAMILY CAREGIVERS

Abstract Native American communities are disproportionately impacted by Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias and are more likely to identify as family caregivers compared to other racial groups. Caregiver resources such as educational, supportive, and respite services have been shown to decrease burden and improve health outcomes. However, government and tribal services to support caregivers are underutilized. Using a CBPR approach, within the framework of an existing partnership between the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, all phases of research were conducted with Oneida partners. We used a mixed-method approach to gain a better understanding of the cultural and community-related factors impacting resource utilization by Native American dementia caregivers. Ten caregivers of older adults with memory loss completed surveys followed by in-depth interviews. Caregivers were aged 38-69 years, 90% female, and living on or near the Oneida reservation; time caregiving varied from <1 to >10 years. Most care recipients had not received a formal diagnosis of memory disorder. Interviews revealed barriers to service use including low awareness, complexities of service funding structures, and care recipient preferences. Perceptions of alignment of traditional cultural values with service use were nuanced and varied. Our findings underline the multiple factors impacting Native families coping with dementia and contribute to the scant literature on ADRD caregiving among Native Americans. Results can inform public health initiatives to address ADRD disparities and improve outcomes for Indigenous persons with ADRD.

Selective Explanations: Leveraging Human Input to Align Explainable AI

While a vast collection of explainable AI (XAI) algorithms has been developed in recent years, they have been criticized for significant gaps with how humans produce and consume explanations. As a result, current XAI techniques are often found to be hard to use and lack effectiveness. In this work, we attempt to close these gaps by making AI explanations selective ---a fundamental property of human explanations---by selectively presenting a subset of model reasoning based on what aligns with the recipient's preferences. We propose a general framework for generating selective explanations by leveraging human input on a small dataset. This framework opens up a rich design space that accounts for different selectivity goals, types of input, and more. As a showcase, we use a decision-support task to explore selective explanations based on what the decision-maker would consider relevant to the decision task. We conducted two experimental studies to examine three paradigms based on our proposed framework: in Study 1, we ask the participants to provide critique-based or open-ended input to generate selective explanations (self-input). In Study 2, we show the participants selective explanations based on input from a panel of similar users (annotator input). Our experiments demonstrate the promise of selective explanations in reducing over-reliance on AI and improving collaborative decision making and subjective perceptions of the AI system, but also paint a nuanced picture that attributes some of these positive effects to the opportunity to provide one's own input to augment AI explanations. Overall, our work proposes a novel XAI framework inspired by human communication behaviors and demonstrates its potential to encourage future work to make AI explanations more human-compatible.

Transplant Recipient Preferences Regarding Organ Donor Research: Their Role in Consent and use of Their Data.

Research on deceased organ donors has been hindered by concerns related to seeking research consent from transplant recipients. We undertook this qualitative study to elucidate solid organ transplant recipients views on organ donor research, their role in the consent for such research, and their preferences related to providing their data. We conducted interviews with 18 participants and three themes emerged from the data. The first centered around participant research literacy. The second described practical preferences of participating in research, and the third related to the connection between donor and recipient. We concluded that previously held views about the requirement for transplant recipients to have a consenting role in donor research is not always suitable.

Predictions and choices for others: Some insights into how and why they differ.

Being able to learn another person's preferences and choose on their behalf are important skills. However, people often do not choose what the other would choose for themselves. Over two incentive-compatible studies, we identify how and why people choose differently for others than the others would choose for themselves. Participants observed choices made by another person and then (a) predicted what this person would choose or (b) chose for them in new decisions, while we tracked their mouse movements. Participants learned noisy human preferences as easily as they learned noiseless algorithms. Moreover, participants' predictions of what others would choose were in line with the others' actual choices roughly 80% of the time, regardless of whether they were paid for predicting consistently with the others' actual choices. Thus, neither difficulty in learning noisy preferences nor motivation appear to be major factors in how people choose for others. However, participants were much less consistent with their recipients' preferences when choosing for them. Surrogates incorporated their own preferences and tried to maximize expected value. Mouse-tracking results imply that the recipient's preferences affect the surrogate's decision later in the choice process when choosing (vs. predicting). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

O-081 Brad Pitt or the Next Door Neighbor?

Abstract Study question Can we identify the preferences of sperm recipients regarding traits of the ideal sperm donor? Summary answer According to our questionnaire, patients’ priority was a “healthy child” but they were also trying to assemble “the perfect looking child”. What is known already Recruiting sperm donors is tedious and time consuming. Literature is scarce on the factors guiding women when choosing a donor. Increasing knowledge regarding these factors could assist in the recruitment process. In certain countries sperm donation is anonymous. The shared information about the donors is limited and includes basic physical traits (hair, eye color, skin complexion, height) in addition to religion, education, and occupation. Single women are free of social constraints when choosing an anonymous donor, shedding a light on what are the most critical elements. Study design, size, duration An anonymous questionnaire was developed to explore sperm recipients’ preferences in choosing a sperm donor. The respondents were asked to describe themselves and choose the traits of the ideal donor from a structured list in the questionnaire. Patients were asked to rank the importance of a list of traits. Participants/materials, setting, methods Sixty four patients completed the questionnaire. The data was statistically analyzed. Main results and the role of chance Eighty percent of participants are single women. 45% of the participants are 35-40 years old. Most of them have an academic degree (70%) and grew up in the city (77%). 74% of our patients have dark hair and 67% have brown eyes. We compared the traits of the recipients to the traits of the hypothetical ideal donor. Interestingly, recipients did not desire a donor that looks like them overcoming the natural instinctive desire to have a child that looks like you. Even though the average recipient at our unit does not have a fair appearance, the ideal donor of 73% of the recipients is light haired with blue/green colored eyes. The average height of the women was 166cm±6 while the average height of the ideal donor was 178cm±6. Still, when ranking the importance of traits; 89% ranked genetic testing as most important in their selection and 67% ranked the staff's impression of the donor as very important. Recipients with an academic degree ranked education as important compared with non-academic recipients. Limitations, reasons for caution Preference in choosing a sperm donor may be influenced by local factors and might not generally applicable Wider implications of the findings Recruitment of sperm donors is an ongoing process demanding commitment between the medical staff and the donors. It requires a psychologic evaluation, serologic and genetic testing and repeated sperm sampling. Knowing factors that guide women when choosing a sperm donor may precise the recruitment process of donors. Trial registration number None

Exploring Caregivers’ Clothing Choices for Individuals With Severe Alzheimer's Disease: An Application of the Theories of Self-Complexity and Choosing for Others

The number of older Americans as well as those living with Alzheimer's is rapidly growing. Alzheimer's dementia is a disease that causes problems with memory, thinking, and behavior. The role of caregivers is important, as they are the individuals who assist those with Alzheimer's in completing not just medical tasks, but fundamental activities of daily living, such as selecting garments to wear and getting dressed. The purpose of this study was to understand how caregivers make such choices. Interviews with twelve caregivers of individuals with severe stage Alzheimer's were conducted in nursing homes in the United States. Four themes emerged: The Role of Proxy, Routine Selections, Gift-Giving for Loved Ones, and Triangular Relationships. In all cases, the recipient's preferences were important to caregivers’ choices. Further research on the outcomes of making choices for others is needed.

Students as Information Responders and Creators during a University Shooting

ABSTRACT Crises are phenomenally complex communicative events that require swift, intentional, and fluid communication. Although organizations are typically equipped to engage in crisis communication, organizational stakeholders may unwittingly become interwoven into these communication efforts because of their relationship with the organization. As an extension to earlier work, the current study seeks to add to crisis communication knowledge by nuancing the communicative processes students as stakeholders undergo as they make sense of an emergent crisis and as they decide whom to message, via what channels, and how to frame the news for others. A six-condition experiment considers the role students play as information responders and creators during a hypothetical active shooter scenario. Findings indicate that stakeholders feel compelled to participate in crisis communication actions and engage in sophisticated communication processing as they informally collaborate with the university to disseminate crisis information. Participants’ responses suggested that they consider relational expectations and the media preferences of message recipients in addition to their predilections before selecting communication vehicles and drafting messages. Common communicative frames and reactions surrounding gun violence in the United States are illuminated, and the need for better education surrounding active shooter situations is addressed.

Buying gifts for multiple recipients: How culture affects whose desires are prioritized

Gift purchasing is an important factor driving the retail industry around the world, and yet, many gift selections do not match recipient preferences. Three studies examine how consumers from different cultures select gifts for multiple recipients and when gifts deviate from recipients’ preferences. Both U.S. and Chinese consumers who are shopping for multiple recipients tend to pass up recipients’ preferred gifts in favor of getting distinct gifts for each recipient, and Chinese givers are more likely than U.S. givers to choose gifts that deviate from recipients’ preferences overall. The criteria that consumers use to decide whose preferences to prioritize differ across cultures. U.S. givers prioritize recipients they like better, but Chinese givers prioritize better-liked recipients less consistently. Chinese prioritize higher-status recipients, but U.S. givers do not. We further show that these national cultural differences in prioritizing higher-status recipients are paralleled by differences in power distance belief.

Blood donation among individuals of African origin in the Netherlands: how are barriers and motivators associated with intention?

Blood donors of African origin are under-represented in high-income Western countries, while their extended blood types closely match chronic transfusion patients with similar ancestral backgrounds. To prevent alloimunisation, it is important to recruit and retain more African blood donors. The aim of this study was to gain insight into blood donation barriers and motivators of individuals of African origin, and to assess how these are associated with the intention to donate blood. An online survey sample included 300 participants of sub-Saharan African, Afro-Surinamese and Afro-Caribbean origin living in the Netherlands. They ranked 25 barriers and 19 motivators on the level of impediment and facilitation in blood donation. We compared differences in barriers and motivators between ever- and never-donors and tested associations with the intention to donate blood using univariate and multivariate linear regression analyses, adjusted for gender, age, ethnicity, immigrant generation, educational level, and blood donation history. Receiving information about the donation procedure was a highly ranked motivator especially among never-donors (50%) and was positively associated with the intention to donate (p<0.05). Non-monetary incentives, convenience factors and awareness were other important motivators. Highly ranked barriers related to fears and not feeling healthy enough to donate, although only "believing donation is scary or stressful" (reported by 8% of the ever-donors and 25% of the never-donors) remained significantly associated with intention to donate in the multivariate model (p<0.05). Recipient preferences, religion and distrust were less often reported and were not associated with donation intention. The highest ranked barriers and motivators were not necessarily the best predictors of donation intention. These findings have valuable implications for future interventions focussing on individuals of African origin.

Preferences for treatments to prevent rheumatoid arthritis in Canada and the influence of shared decision-making.

To elicit and compare preferences of patients and first-degree relatives and rheumatologists for preventive treatments forrheumatoid arthritis, understand the influence of shared decision-making, and predict the probability of uptake of the preventive treatments currently being studied. An online discrete choice experiment was completed by patients and their first-degree relatives and rheumatologists. Results were analysed using mixed logit model to estimate preferences for the key features of treatments. Preferences for features of treatments were used to predict the probability of uptake of seven preventive treatment options. A total of 108 potential recipients (78 patients and 30 of their first-degree relatives) and 39 rheumatologists completed the survey. Preferences of patients/first-degree relatives and rheumatologists were similar (shared decision-making was most important, followed by the risk of side effects and potential benefit), but subtle differences existed; rheumatologists placed greater importance on certainty in evidence than patients/first-degree relatives, who felt that how a treatment was taken was more important. Predicted uptake suggested that 38% (95% CI 19%, 58%) of patients/first-degree relatives would not take a preventive treatment, compared with 12% (95% CI - 4%, 27%) of rheumatologists. A consistent finding across all groups was a preference for non-biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs. Only relatively safe options for preventive treatment are likely to be acceptable to at-risk populations. This study of preventive treatments highlights that the preferences of physicians and recipients of treatment should take a central role in the design of clinical studies as well as indecisions to initiate treatments. Key Points • This paper is the first to compare preferences for preventive treatments between rheumatologists and patients and at-risk individuals. • The results of this study indicate that patients and at-risk individuals, as well as rheumatologists, are likely to prefer the safest options as preventive treatment, even if the potential benefit of these is lower. • Although preferences of patients and at-risk individuals are similar to those of rheumatologists, the choice of preventive treatment may differ between groups; this is important as shared decision-making was a critical factor in treatment decision-making. • Preferences of physicians and recipients of treatment should take a central role in the design of clinical studies as well asin decisions to initiate treatments.

Preferences for Weight Loss Treatment Amongst Treatment-Seeking Patients with Severe Obesity: A Discrete Choice Experiment.

Treatment options for weight loss vary considerably with regard to risks and benefits, but the relative importance of treatment characteristics in patient decision-making is largely unknown, particularly amongst patients with severe obesity. Developing such services requires insight into the preferences of recipients for service attributes. The objective of this study was to quantify, using a discrete choice experiment, the preferences of treatment-seeking patients with severe obesity within the Irish population regarding different attributes of various obesity treatments. Within a cohort of patients with severe obesity attending a hospital-based weight management programme, patients' attitudes to and perceptions of three distinct treatment modalities were compared to those regarding not having treatment. The treatments included a structured lifestyle modification programme, lifestyle modification alongside weight loss medication, and bariatric surgery. On average, patients with severe and complicated obesity who were attending a weight management programme were more enthusiastic about participating in a programme to help improve their diet and physical activity than they were about having surgery if the methods of treatment had equivalent results and costs. The findings provide insights into preferences that might assist the development of more appropriate treatments for severe obesity.