Abstract
Background: Living kidney donor (LKD) candidates of African ancestry are increasingly asked to undergo Apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1) genetic testing during the donor evaluation process to better understand their risk of kidney disease. LKD candidates’ attitudes about using a clinical chatbot on APOL1 remain unknown. This study builds on prior work to culturally adapt the Gia (Genetic Information Assistant) chatbot on APOL1 by assessing donor, recipient, and community member attitudes about the Gia chatbot for enhancing the integration of APOL1 testing into the LKD clinical evaluation workflow. Methods: This study involved focus groups and a post-focus group survey in two US cities about the APOL1 Gia chatbot. Qualitative data were analyzed via thematic analysis, and descriptive statistics were used for demographic data. Results: We conducted 10 focus groups including 54 participants (25 LKDs, 23 community members, and 6 living donor kidney transplant recipients of African ancestry). Five themes emerged: (1) participants supported LKD candidates using the Gia chatbot before the nephrologist clinic visit, (2) participants were interested in undergoing APOL1 testing after using Gia, (3) APOL1 testing costs may influence LKD candidates’ willingness to get tested, (4) patients of African ancestry may hold varying preferences for using chatbots in the healthcare setting, and (5) individual-level barriers may limit the use of Gia in the healthcare setting. Conclusions: Individuals of African ancestry were highly receptive to integrating the APOL1 chatbot into LKD candidate clinical evaluation, which bodes well for integrating chatbots into the APOL1 clinical genetic testing process.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Article number | e70026 |
| Journal | Clinical Transplantation |
| Volume | 38 |
| Issue number | 12 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 2024 |
Funding
This work was funded by the NIH/National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (R01DK128207, PI: Elisa J. Gordon) and the Northwestern Memorial Hospital Dixon Translational Research Innovation Award (PI: Elisa J. Gordon).The authors thank the participants in this research study. We thank Preeya Waite, Matthew Gooden, and Zenab R. Abubakari for their research assistance. The authors wish to thank our collaborators from the Community Advisory Board in Chicago, IL (Dr. Phalese Binion, Jacqueline Burgess-Bishop, Calmetta Coleman, Vea Crawford, Monica Fox, Joann Howard-Burden, Marion Shuck, and George Wells), and the Association for Multicultural Affairs in Transplantation in Washington, DC; our dedicated research teams at Northwestern University and Georgetown University; and the Scientific Advisory Board members on this project (Mona Doshi, Charmaine Royal, and Richard R. Sharp) for providing sage guidance. This work was funded by the NIH/National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (R01DK128207, PI: Elisa J. Gordon) and the Northwestern Memorial Hospital Dixon Translational Research Innovation Award (PI: Elisa J. Gordon). Funding: Apolipoprotein
Keywords
- African American
- African ancestry genetic counseling
- Black
- community engagement
- evaluation
- focus groups
- informed consent
- kidney disease
- patient-centered
- transplantation
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Transplantation