Long-term follow-up of clinical trial participants: Predictors of post-trial response in older subjects.

Background And Objective: The post-trial follow-up (PTFU) phase of a clinical trial can provide important information on maintenance of intervention effects. However, approaches for the PTFU are rarely described. This short communication describes our process for PTFU that involved recontacting older subjects who participated in a clinical trial between 2015 and 2019.

Do pre-transplant cultural factors predict health-related quality of life after kidney transplantation?

Background: Post-transplant health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is associated with health outcomes for kidney transplant (KT) recipients. However, pretransplant predictors of improvements in post-transplant HRQOL remain incompletely understood. Namely, important pretransplant cultural factors, such as experience of discrimination, perceived racism in healthcare, or mistrust of the healthcare system, have not been examined as potential HRQOL predictors.

Incorporating technology in research with older bereaved adults: Lessons learned from conducting an internet-based randomized controlled trial.

Objective: Digital health interventions (DHI) involve multiple interactions between the user, technology platform, and study team, posing challenges for implementation. This paper describes the lessons learned while implementing an internet-based randomized controlled trial (RCT) for reducing depression symptom burden in older acutely-bereaved adults.

Methods: The RCT was entitled "Widowed Elders' Lifestyle after Loss" (or WELL), which compared the efficacy of a DHI to an enhanced usual care (EUC) for reducing depression symptoms in adults 60+ years who lost their spouse/life partner within the previous 12 months.

Predicting Kidney Transplant Evaluation Non-attendance.

Non-attendance to kidney transplant evaluation (KTE) appointments is a barrier to optimal care for those with kidney failure. We examined the medical and socio-cultural factors that predict KTE non-attendance to identify opportunities for integrated medical teams to intervene. Patients scheduled for KTE between May, 2015 and June, 2018 completed an interview before their initial KTE appointment.

A digital health intervention to stabilize the 24-hour rhythm of sleep, meals, and physical activity for reducing depression among older bereaved spouses: Protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Despite the high prevalence of depression and disruption to 24-h sleep-wake routines following the death of a spouse in late-life, no bereavement interventions have been developed to re-entrain a regular sleep-wake routine among older widow(er)s. We describe the rationale and methodology of the NIH-funded WELL Study (Widowed Elders' Lifestyle after Loss), a randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing the efficacy of a digital health intervention (DHI) to enhanced usual care (EUC) arm for reducing depression symptoms in older spousally-bereaved adults.

Methods: We will randomize approximately 200 recently bereaved (<12 months) adults aged 60+ years to one of two 12-week interventions: digital monitoring of the timing and regularity of sleep, meals, and physical activity plus weekly motivational health coaching; or enhanced usual care consisting of weekly telephone calls and similar assessment schedules.

Are cultural or psychosocial factors associated with patient-reported outcomes at the conclusion of kidney transplant evaluation?

Background: Kidney transplant evaluation (KTE) is a period marked by many stressors for patients, which may lead to poorer patient-reported outcomes (PROs). Research on the association of cultural and psychosocial factors with PROs during KTE is lacking, even though cultural and psychosocial variables may mitigate the relationship between acceptance status and PROs.

Methods: Using a prospective cohort study of 955 adults referred for KTE, we examined whether cultural factors and psychosocial characteristics, assessed at the initiation of KTE, are associated with PROs at KTE completion, controlling for demographics and medical factors.

The Combined Roles of Race/Ethnicity and Substance Use in Predicting Likelihood of Kidney Transplantation.

Background: Racial/ethnic minorities face known disparities in likelihood of kidney transplantation. These disparities may be exacerbated when coupled with ongoing substance use, a factor also reducing likelihood of transplantation. We examined whether race/ethnicity in combination with ongoing substance use predicted incidence of transplantation.

Medication, Healthcare Follow-up, and Lifestyle Nonadherence: Do They Share the Same Risk Factors?

Unlabelled: Barriers to medication adherence may differ from barriers in other domains of adherence. In this study, we assessed the association between pre-kidney transplantation (KT) factors with nonadherent behaviors in 3 different domains post-KT.

Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study with patient interviews at initial KT evaluation (baseline-nonadherence predictors in sociodemographic, condition-related, health system, and patient-related psychosocial factors) and at ≈6 mo post-KT (adherence outcomes: medications, healthcare follow-up, and lifestyle behavior).

Does Racial Disparity in Kidney Transplant Waitlisting Persist After Accounting for Social Determinants of Health?

Background: African Americans (AA) have lower rates of kidney transplantation (KT) compared with Whites (WH), even after adjusting for demographic and medical factors. In this study, we examined whether the racial disparity in KT waitlisting persists after adjusting for social determinants of health (eg, cultural, psychosocial, and knowledge).

Methods: We prospectively followed a cohort of 1055 patients who were evaluated for KT between 3 of 10 to 10 of 12 and followed through 8 of 18.

Unexpected Race and Ethnicity Differences in the US National Veterans Affairs Kidney Transplant Program.

Background: Racial/ethnic minorities have lower rates of deceased kidney transplantation (DDKT) and living donor kidney transplantation (LDKT) in the United States. We examined whether social determinants of health (eg, demographics, cultural, psychosocial, knowledge factors) could account for differences in the Veterans Affairs (VA) Kidney Transplantation (KT) Program.

Methods: We conducted a multicenter longitudinal cohort study of 611 Veterans undergoing evaluation for KT at all National VA KT Centers (2010-2012) using an interview after KT evaluation and tracking participants via medical records through 2017.

Protocol of the KTFT-TALK study to reduce racial disparities in kidney transplant evaluation and living donor kidney transplantation.

Living donor kidney transplantation (LDKT) is the optimal treatment for end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). The evaluation process for a kidney transplant is complex, time consuming, and burdensome to the ESKD patient. Also, race disparities exist in rates of transplant evaluation completion, transplantation, and LDKT.

Has the Department of Veterans Affairs Found a Way to Avoid Racial Disparities in the Evaluation Process for Kidney Transplantation?

Background: Minority groups are affected by significant disparities in kidney transplantation (KT) in Veterans Affairs (VA) and non-VA transplant centers. However, prior VA studies have been limited to retrospective, secondary database analyses that focused on multiple stages of the KT process simultaneously. Our goal was to determine whether disparities during the evaluation period for KT exist in the VA as has been found in non-VA settings.