Design of a Standardized Patient: Mentoring Program for Kidney Transplant Patients

Overview

There is an increasing number in patient's undergoing kidney transplantation in the United States. Furthermore, kidney recipients have high occurrence of 30-day readmissions that leads to high hospital costs and decreased quality of life for transplant recipients. A previous research finds that high levels of post-transplant anxiety is correlated with increased likelihood of 30-day readmissions. The goal of this study is to design and implementat a randomized control trial (RCT) using a standardized post-transplant mentoring program in order to reduce 30-day readmission and post-transplant anxiety among recipients.

In this research, the investigators will seek to examine the efficacy of using former patients as mentors to newly transplanted patients and its relationship with patient anxiety following discharge as well as the prevention of 30-day readmissions for kidney transplant recipients. The primary hypothesis is that the treatment group of patients who undergo a targeted mentorship program will be better compliant with the discharge instructions and will perform better when compared to the control group who undergoes current routine post-transplantation care. Evidence from this experiment can help advance our understanding of patient-engagement in the continuity of care delivery, decrease patient readmission rates, and improve overall cost utilization. Methods: The investigators will conduct a single institution randomized control trial assigning patients getting discharged after a kidney transplant to a treatment group that involves a 30-day mentoring initiative by former transplant patients, and comparing the efficacy with a similar control group. The overall study period will be divided into the following sections, summarized in Figure 1.