P1202 - Assessing Educational Preferences to Improve Disparities in Liver Transplantation: A Pilot Study of HCC Patients

Sanjana Rao, MD¹, Manuela Araque, MD¹, Sirisha Gaddipati, MD², Eric Martin, MD³, Joshua Turkeltaub, MD¹, Patricia Jones, MD, MSCR^1
1University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL; ²University of Miami Miller School of Medicine at Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami, FL; ³Jackson Health System, Miami, FL

Introduction: Disparities in diagnosis, management, and survival persist for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Black and Hispanic patients receive liver transplantation (LT) at much lower rates compared to non-Hispanic White patients. Prior studies have shown that these findings may be related to socioeconomic or insurance status, substance use, or low health literacy.^1,2 In this pilot study, we assessed HCC patients’ educational and social needs to inform future interventions that will address disparities throughout the liver transplant process.

Methods: We recruited adults with HCC undergoing OLT evaluation. After obtaining informed consent, we conducted a telephone-based survey in English or Spanish per patient preference. We assessed educational needs and preferred learning styles. Participants rated HCC and OLT-specific knowledge using a Likert-type scale and provided open-ended responses. We used descriptive statistics for demographics, disease-specific characteristics, social needs, and patient preferences. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board and funded by the ACG Medical Resident Research Award.





Results: Among 25 patients, 19 were male. Mean age was 66.1 years. The sample was 76.0% Hispanic and preferred Spanish (Table 1). Most participants, 70.1%, had very early or early-stage HCC and 60% have undergone trans-arterial embolization. Notably, 92.0% rated their HCC knowledge as “good” or better while only 68.0% rated OLT-specific knowledge this highly. Although 84.0% of patients reported receiving text-based materials about their disease, only 46.0% voiced a preference for written education (Figure 1). Of note, 36.0% finished high school or less and the same amount required assistance with reading. Along this vein, 92.0% expressed a desire for audiovisual materials. With regards to social factors, 96.0% expressed no issues paying basic living/clinical bills or transportation barriers to care.

Discussion: Our ongoing study’s findings indicate that despite limited reported social barriers, educational needs persist. Evidently, there is a significant discrepancy between type of patient education received and preferred learning style. As such, we are currently developing a video-series to address our patients’ gaps in knowledge, particularly regarding OLT. Ultimately, we strive to apply these survey-based interventions to a larger sample and expand beyond liver to other solid organ transplantation efforts.



Disclosures:


Sanjana Rao, MD¹, Manuela Araque, MD¹, Sirisha Gaddipati, MD², Eric Martin, MD³, Joshua Turkeltaub, MD¹, Patricia Jones, MD, MSCR¹. P1202 - Assessing Educational Preferences to Improve Disparities in Liver Transplantation: A Pilot Study of HCC Patients, ACG 2024 Annual Scientific Meeting Abstracts. Philadelphia, PA: American College of Gastroenterology.