Contraception for Solid Organ Transplant Patients: Utilizing Social Media

March 28, 2023 updated by: Sheila Mody, University of California, San Diego
The purpose of this study is to use an electronic survey to explore Solid Organ Transplant patients' contraceptive knowledge and counseling. The results from this survey will be used to help identify awareness gaps to potentially develop targeted interventions for comprehensive education.

Study Overview

Detailed Description

According to data from the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, 10,804 women received organ transplants in 2011. Of these women, 3896 (36%) were between the ages of 18 and 49. Women of reproductive age make up a significant part of the transplant recipient population, so pregnancy in these immunocompromised patients is a concern. The incidence of unwanted pregnancy (a subset of unintended pregnancies) among female kidney transplant recipients is 48%, while the national incidence is 25%. The American Society of Transplantation (AST) has come to a consensus that gestations in organ transplant patients be considered high risk and be managed by both transplant physicians and high-risk pregnancy specialists. Pregnancies after organ transplantation have a high incidence of low birth weight (less than 2.5 kg).

The risks posed to the woman herself, her transplanted organ, and fetus underscore the importance of having health care providers counsel transplant patients on family planning, including return to fertility, contraceptive use, and when pregnancy can be safely considered. Specifically the fetus may be exposed to teratogenic immunosuppressive transplant medications and pregnancy increases the risk for rejection of the transplanted organ. Therefore it is important that women are thoroughly counseled regarding contraceptive effectiveness and safety. Health care providers have a large impact on the reproductive decisions that patients make. In a study done in transplant clinics across the nation, the majority of respondents based their decision on whether to become pregnant on the guidance of the individual transplant physician.

Transplant specialists may not be comfortably providing family planning services directly to patients. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention's United States Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use has specific guidance on the safety of each contraceptive for women undergoing solid organ transplants. However, this guidance is based on limited safety data. This study aims to add to the literature available on this patient population although we are not assessing safety. In addition, this study will identify improvement opportunities to the care provided to transplant patients within our own Health System.

This research study is a unique collaboration between the Departments of Pharmacy, Nephrology, and Reproductive Medicine.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

52

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

    • California
      • La Jolla, California, United States, 92093
        • University of California, San Diego

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 50 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

Female

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Women 18-50 years, solid organ transplant in the last 5 years, and fluent in English.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Women 18-50 years old, solid organ transplant in the last 5 years, and fluent in English.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Not sexually active with men, history of hysterectomy, history of oophorectomy

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Level of knowledge among solid organ transplant patients about contraceptive methods
Time Frame: Three years
The survey questionnaire asks multiple-choice questions about (1) available contraceptive methods, (2) the safety profile of methods for women with transplant histories, and (3) the teratogenic risks of post-transplant medications.
Three years
Quantity of contraceptive counseling for solid organ transplant patients
Time Frame: Three years
The survey questionnaire asks multiple-choice questions about (1) whether patients received counseling about contraception and (2) if they want more counseling on contraception.
Three years
Number of participants counseled on contraception by provider
Time Frame: Three years
The survey questionnaire asked multiple-choice questions about (1) which, if any, provider(s) counseled them on contraception and (2) from which provider(s), if any, would they prefer to receive contraceptive counseling.
Three years

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

January 18, 2018

Primary Completion (Actual)

September 1, 2020

Study Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2020

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 13, 2018

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 6, 2019

First Posted (Actual)

June 10, 2019

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 31, 2023

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 28, 2023

Last Verified

March 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 170592X

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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