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Jagelaviciute G, Kum E, Li EW, Rosenfeld A, Williams K, Kandel R, DeGurse N, Park B, Okonofua S, Sano L, Gerofsky M, Sharp A, Hatkar R, Thyagu S, Fingrut WB. Why We Swab: A library of stories in stem cell donation. Transfusion 2022; 62:2095-2107. [PMID: 36062961 DOI: 10.1111/trf.17087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2022] [Revised: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 07/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Stories are powerful in their ability to disseminate information in a meaningful way. We hypothesized that a stem cell donation story library optimized for social media could support the education and recruitment of committed unrelated hematopoietic stem cell donors from needed demographic groups. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS We developed Why We Swab, a library of stories on stem cell donation (facebook.com/WhyWeSwab; instagram.com/WhyWeSwab; twitter.com/WhyWeSwab), and evaluated its impact across social and traditional media as well as on eligible potential donors' knowledge and attitudes towards donation. RESULTS As of December 2021, the library included 28 story arcs featuring 45 storytellers from diverse ancestral backgrounds, including 8 donor-recipient stories. Overall, the stories reached >92,000 people across social media. Notably, stories were republished by 18 print/ broadcast media outlets in Canada and by major medical organizations. A series of stories shown to 33 eligible potential donors improved mean total scores on a donation knowledge test (64% to 85%, p < 0.001), reduced mean ambivalence scale scores (3.85 to 2.70, p < 0.001), and improved participants' willingness to register as donors (45% to 73%, p < 0.005). Data are also shown demonstrating that stakeholders valued the library and that its deployment was associated with improved donor recruitment outcomes in Canada. CONCLUSION Why We Swab is accessible and relevant to a wide audience, including stem cell donor registries and recruitment organizations seeking to improve their recruitment efforts as well as to blood and organ & tissue donation organizations who can adapt the Why We Swab model to their audiences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriele Jagelaviciute
- Stem Cell Club, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,School of Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
| | - Elena Kum
- Stem Cell Club, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Faculty of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Edward W Li
- Stem Cell Club, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Faculty of Health Sciences and Wellness, Humber College, and University of New Brunswick, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Aaron Rosenfeld
- Stem Cell Club, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Kenneth Williams
- Stem Cell Club, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Rana Kandel
- Stem Cell Club, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Natalie DeGurse
- Stem Cell Club, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Schulich School of Medicine, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Brady Park
- Stem Cell Club, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Faculty of Science, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Sylvia Okonofua
- Stem Cell Club, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Faculty of Science, University of Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | - Lauren Sano
- Stem Cell Club, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Faculty of Science, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Moriah Gerofsky
- Stem Cell Club, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Wilfrid Laurier, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
| | - Alexander Sharp
- Stem Cell Club, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Rupal Hatkar
- Stem Cell Club, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Santhosh Thyagu
- Stem Cell Club, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Warren B Fingrut
- Stem Cell Club, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Adult Bone Marrow Transplantation Service, Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, USA
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