Jessica Harding will use HSRC Pilot Grant to study gender disparities in access to transplant
MAY 2022
Jessica Harding, PhD, assistant professor and early-stage investigator in the Department of Surgery, is the recipient of the 2022 Emory Health Services Research Center (HSRC) Pilot Award, which she will apply to identifying factors associated with gender disparities in access to transplantation among patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD).
Dr. Harding is an epidemiologist with expertise in conducting chronic disease research at population and system levels in both academic and government settings. In her current role, she is working to improve data collection and quality of care to improve access and equity in transplantation.
Preliminary data suggests that gender disparities occur early in the successive steps to receive a transplant. In the Southeastern U.S., women are 14% less likely to be referred by a medical provider to a transplant center and 6% less likely to have started the transplant evaluation process compared to men. Lower referral rates portend lower overall transplant, making identification of the factors driving these diminished rates in women critical to eliminating gender disparities in transplant.
Dr. Harding will conduct analyses that describe gender differences in access to transplantation across both dialysis facilities and transplant centers, and perform critical epidemiologic investigations of the multi-level barriers and facilitators that contribute to these disparities in access. The results of this research will help to define the magnitude of this imbalance, determine the location of those health systems with substantial gender disparities across the population, and uncover region-specific barriers in early transplant access for women.
The overarching aim of Dr. Harding's project is to eliminate inequities and improve healthcare delivery for ESKD patients at every step of the kidney transplant process.
The Emory Health Services Research Center is a joint initiative between the departments of medicine and surgery in the Emory University School of Medicine that is committed to advancing healthcare access, quality of healthcare delivery, and health outcomes of patients and populations.