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During the congress, E-Posters will be accessible to all participants on the congress website 24/7, as well as in the E-poster stations in the congress center.
Preparing your E-Poster
Please review the E-Poster format requirements carefully when preparing your E-Poster. Should your E-Poster not meet the mentioned requirements, it may not be displayed as described above.
E-Poster Submission Deadline
Please prepare and upload your E-Poster no later than March 14, 2026 11.59PM CET. After this date, you will no longer be able to prepare and upload your E-poster and it will not be displayed and accessible on the congress website.
Please follow the instructions below to input your abstract title.
Abstract titles should be brief and reflect the content of the abstract.
Kidney transplantation is the optimal therapy for end-stage kidney disease, yet patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) frequently experience delays in referral, evaluation, and waitlisting, resulting in prolonged dialysis, higher complications, and poorer health outcomes. Most prior studies focus on single-language or ethnic populations and examine only one stage of the transplant process, leaving gaps in understanding the full patient journey and systemic impact of delayed transplantation. This study is the first, to our knowledge, to conduct a multi-language analysis of the entire kidney transplant referral-to-listing pathway, integrating quantitative timelines, patient and provider perspectives, and economic consequences.
We will perform a retrospective cohort study of adult patients (over 18 years) referred to St. Michael’s Hospital (Unity Health Toronto) Kidney Transplant Clinic in Toronto, Canada from January 1, 2004, to October 1, 2025. LEP patients identified in electronic health records will be compared with matched Proficient English-speaking (PES) controls (1:2 ratio LEP to PES patients). Outcomes include referral-to-listing time, evaluation completion rates, patient and provider perceptions of communication barriers, and dialysis-related economic costs. Data will be de-identified and analyzed using descriptive statistics (means, medians, proportions), supplemented by qualitative insights. This project was reviewed by institutional authorities at Unity Health Toronto and determined to be exempt from Research Ethics Board review and written informed consent requirements, in accordance with TCPS2 guidelines and the Declaration of Istanbul on Organ Trafficking and Transplant Tourism.
This cohort included 314 LEP patients and 4,344 PES patients. Preliminary data showed, a median age was 69 years in the LEP group and 65 years in the PES group. In the LEP group, 56% were male and 44% female, compared with 66% male and 34% female in the PES group. Data analysis is currently underway, and summary results will be available for presentation at WCN. We anticipate that LEP patients will experience longer referral-to-listing times, lower evaluation completion rates, and higher dialysis-related costs compared with PES patients. Qualitative findings are expected to reveal systemic and communication barriers, including limited interpreter access, workflow challenges, and culturally misaligned educational resources.
This study will be the first multi-language, full-journey analysis of kidney transplant referral disparities, providing actionable evidence to improve equity in access. Findings are anticipated to guide tailored interventions, optimize interpreter services, develop patient-centered resources, and inform policies to reduce delays and improve outcomes for linguistically diverse populations. Future directions include interpreter-facilitated interviews to better understand patient experiences and enhance education, support, and digital health accessibility throughout the transplant journey.
