Behaviour Theory-Based Correlates, Barriers, and Enablers to Organ Donation Registration

Abstract

Deceased organ donation is crucial to thousands of Canadians on transplant wait-lists, though many die waiting due to insufficient donation. Organ donation registration is key to increasing donation, but registration rates in Canada are low, necessitating the development of new, registration-promoting interventions. Behaviour theories could help to better understand registration behaviour, inform fit-for-purpose interventions, and assist in building cumulative evidence, but it is unclear how they have been applied to organ donation registration. Study 1 reports a systematic review identifying behaviour theories that have been applied to registration, and a meta-analysis of the amount of variance in registration intention and behaviour explained by behaviour theories. Study 2 reports a qualitative meta-synthesis of organ donation registration barriers and enablers, mapped to a behavioural framework. The resulting comprehensive set of factors helps to identify priorities for future research, and provide insights towards developing novel interventions to bolster registration rates in Canada.