Date of Award
5-2022
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Department
Executive Leadership
First Supervisor
Theresa Pulos, EdD
Second Supervisor
Marianne Markowitz, EdD
Abstract
The purpose of this descriptive, qualitative study was to discover and document the beliefs, thoughts, and perspectives of transplant administrators relating to the perceived usefulness of social media (SM) for the identification of potential living kidney donors. Semi-structured interviews of five transplant administrators from centers with active living kidney transplantation programs were conducted. The research questions were intended to inform technology acceptance based on the Technology Acceptance Model-2 (TAM-2) constructs of perceived usefulness and intention to use. Emergent themes associated with perceived usefulness were (a) SM helps people and (b) SM is an extension of society. The themes of (a) patient driven, (b) appropriate management, and (c) split feelings emerged relating to intention to use. The results indicated that the participants strongly identified with the theme of SM helping people and view SM as a part of everyday life. Participants indicated that SM use for the purpose of identifying living kidney donors was a de facto practice that should only be patient driven, required appropriate management, and produced split feelings. Some participants wondered if SM was an equitable option for patients. An unexpected finding was the presence of moderating forces related to perceived ease of use that describe the burden and workload created by SM that were overcome by strong feelings of perceived usefulness. The presence of moderating forces is not addressed in the TAM-2 model and represents a new construct related to technology acceptance.
Recommendations included additional study within or across other Organ Procurement and Transplant Network (OPTN) regions to assess for experiential differences and practice needs, research and development of best practices to help transplant centers manage the workload created by SM use, equity related to SM use, and replication of technology acceptance research with moderating factor detection.
Recommended Citation
Morris, Janine, "Exploration of the Perceptions, Beliefs, and Thoughts of Transplant Administrators Regarding the Perceived Usefulness of Social Media for Identifying Living Kidney Donors" (2022). Education Doctoral. Paper 522.
https://fisherpub.sjf.edu/education_etd/522
Please note that the Recommended Citation provides general citation information and may not be appropriate for your discipline. To receive help in creating a citation based on your discipline, please visit http://libguides.sjfc.edu/citations.