Research Article Clinical Research and Trials Clin Res Trials, 2019 doi: 10.15761/CRT.1000252 ISSN: 2059-0377 Volume 5: 1-7 An innovative patient-mentoring program for kidney transplant patients to reduce anxiety and readmission rates: a randomized controlled trial leveraging patients Chelsea R Horwood 1 *, Susan Moffatt-Bruce 1 , Shannon Harris 2 , Yeojun Chun 2 , Kristen Hill 1 , Mary Lou Hauenstein 1 , Patrick Howe 2 and Aravind Chandrasekaran 2 1 The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, USA 2 The Ohio State University Fisher School of Business, Columbus, OH, USA Abstract Background: ere is an increasing number of patient’s undergoing kidney transplantation in the United States. Kidney recipients have high occurrence of 30-day readmissions that leads to high hospital costs and decreased quality of life. Previous research found that a high level of post-transplant anxiety is correlated with increased likelihood of 30-day readmissions. e goal of this paper is to describe the study design and implementation process of a randomized control trial (RCT) using a standardized post-transplant mentoring program in order to reduce 30-day readmission and post-transplant anxiety among kidney transplant recipients. Methods/Design: A single institution RCT evaluating post-kidney transplant patient’s anxiety level and readmission rates (both 30- and 90-day). e intervention group will consist of a standardized mentoring process during a four-week period following transplantation and the control group will undergo routine post-operative (PO) care. e mentors will be prior kidney-transplant recipients who will undergo a standardized training process. ey will contact the intervention group at week intervals to help counsel on proper PO care and give routine advice. Objective and subjective data will be collected at week intervals for all participants over a one- year study period. Discussion: Standardizing a post-transplant mentoring process has the possibility of improving transplant recipient quality of life, reducing post-transplant anxiety and result in fewer readmission rates. *Correspondence to: Chelsea R Horwood, MD, Department of Surgery, 395 W. 12th Avenue Suite 670, Columbus, OH 43210-1267, Tel: 614-293-8701; Fax: 614-292-1272; E-mail: Chelsea.Horwood@osumc.edu Key words: patient mentoring, standardized training, kidney transplantation, readmission rates, post-transplant anxiety Received: January 29, 2019; Accepted: February 13, 2019; Published: February 18, 2019 Abbreviations: RCT: randomized control trial; PO: post-operative; HCAHPS: Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems; OSUWMC: Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center; STAI: State-Trait Anxiety Inventory; MBOE: Master of Operational Excellence; POD= post-operative day; PD= post-discharge from initial transplant Trial registration Protocol Record 2017H0190. Registered 6 April 2018 - Retrospectively registered, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03490188?term=2017H019 0&rank=1 Trial registration: Protocol Record 2017H0190 Introduction In 2014, over 17,000 patients received kidney transplants in the United States [1]. e wait list for such transplants is longer than 100,000 with more than 3,000 patients being added to the list every month [1]. Post-transplant, kidney recipients have high occurrence of 30-day readmissions. In a study covering kidney transplants from 2001 to 2005 they found the readmission rate to be 31% [2,3]. Proper self-care by patients aſter discharge, including adherence to medication protocols, doctor visits, dietary modifications, and infection prevention, plays an important role in preventing readmissions [4,5]. e instructions for such post-discharge (PD) care are given to the patients during their transplant-related stay at the hospital. However, these instructions for kidney transplant recipients are becoming more complex with the aggressive use of marginal organs, and with increasingly complicated transplant cases being accepted [6,7]. In addition, with early discharges stemming from added pressures for reducing patient lengths of stay [8], the scope of patient responsibilities for self-care is also increasing. is added complexity and content of post-transplant self-care leads to an increase in patient anxiety with respect to their conditions immediately following discharge. An earlier study conducted by our group found that standardization of discharge work done by transplant nurses improved better quality of care, reduced anxiety, and reduced the occurrence of 30-day readmission rates [9]. Specifically, those analyses suggest that the likelihood of 30-day readmission was about one-third lower for kidney transplant recipients’ post-implementation of the standardized discharge process compared to recipients in a different yet comparable