Taking hospital treatments home: a mixed methods case study looking at the barriers and success factors for home dialysis treatment and the influence of a target on uptake rates

Centre variation in home dialysis uptake: A survey of kidney centre practice in relation to home dialysis organisation and delivery in England

BACKGROUND

Disparities in home dialysis uptake across England suggest inequity and unexplained variation in access. We surveyed staff at all English kidney centres to identify patterns in service organisation/delivery and explore correlations with home therapy uptake, as part of a larger study ('Inter-CEPt'), which aims to identify potentially modifiable factors to address observed variations.

METHODS

Between June and September 2022, staff working at English kidney centres were surveyed and individual responses combined into one centre-level response per question using predetermined data aggregation rules. Descriptive analysis described centre practices and their correlation with home dialysis uptake (proportion of new home dialysis starters) using 2019 UK Renal Registry 12-month home dialysis incidence data.

RESULTS

In total, 180 responses were received (50/51 centres, 98.0%). Despite varied organisation of home dialysis services, most components of service delivery and practice had minimal or weak correlations with home dialysis uptake apart from offering assisted peritoneal dialysis and 'promoting flexible decision-making about dialysis modality'. Moderate to strong correlations were identified between home dialysis uptake and centres reporting supportive clinical leadership (correlation 0.32, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.05-0.55), an organisational culture that values trying new initiatives (0.57, 95% CI: 0.34-0.73); support for reflective practice (0.38, 95% CI: 0.11-0.60), facilitating research engagement (0.39, 95% CI: 0.13-0.61) and promoting continuous quality improvement (0.29, 95% CI: 0.01-0.53).

CONCLUSIONS

Uptake of home dialysis is likely to be driven by organisational culture, leadership and staff attitudes, which provide a supportive clinical environment within which specific components of service organisation and delivery can be effective.

Factors influencing the implementation of early discharge hospital at home and admission avoidance hospital at home: a qualitative evidence synthesis

BACKGROUND

Worldwide there is an increasing demand for Hospital at Home as an alternative to hospital admission. Although there is a growing evidence base on the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of Hospital at Home, health service managers, health professionals and policy makers require evidence on how to implement and sustain these services on a wider scale.

OBJECTIVES

(1) To identify, appraise and synthesise qualitative research evidence on the factors that influence the implementation of Admission Avoidance Hospital at Home and Early Discharge Hospital at Home, from the perspective of multiple stakeholders, including policy makers, health service managers, health professionals, patients and patients' caregivers. (2) To explore how our synthesis findings relate to, and help to explain, the findings of the Cochrane intervention reviews of Admission Avoidance Hospital at Home and Early Discharge Hospital at Home services.

SEARCH METHODS

We searched MEDLINE, CINAHL, Global Index Medicus and Scopus until 17 November 2022. We also applied reference checking and citation searching to identify additional studies. We searched for studies in any language.

SELECTION CRITERIA

We included qualitative studies and mixed-methods studies with qualitative data collection and analysis methods examining the implementation of new or existing Hospital at Home services from the perspective of different stakeholders.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Two authors independently selected the studies, extracted study characteristics and intervention components, assessed the methodological limitations using the Critical Appraisal Skills Checklist (CASP) and assessed the confidence in the findings using GRADE-CERQual (Confidence in the Evidence from Reviews of Qualitative research). We applied thematic synthesis to synthesise the data across studies and identify factors that may influence the implementation of Hospital at Home.

MAIN RESULTS

From 7535 records identified from database searches and one identified from citation tracking, we included 52 qualitative studies exploring the implementation of Hospital at Home services (31 Early Discharge, 16 Admission Avoidance, 5 combined services), across 13 countries and from the perspectives of 662 service-level staff (clinicians, managers), eight systems-level staff (commissioners, insurers), 900 patients and 417 caregivers. Overall, we judged 40 studies as having minor methodological concerns and we judged 12 studies as having major concerns. Main concerns included data collection methods (e.g. not reporting a topic guide), data analysis methods (e.g. insufficient data to support findings) and not reporting ethical approval. Following synthesis, we identified 12 findings graded as high (n = 10) and moderate (n = 2) confidence and classified them into four themes: (1) development of stakeholder relationships and systems prior to implementation, (2) processes, resources and skills required for safe and effective implementation, (3) acceptability and caregiver impacts, and (4) sustainability of services.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

Implementing Admission Avoidance and Early Discharge Hospital at Home services requires early development of policies, stakeholder engagement, efficient admission processes, effective communication and a skilled workforce to safely and effectively implement person-centred Hospital at Home, achieve acceptance by staff who refer patients to these services and ensure sustainability. Future research should focus on lower-income country and rural settings, and the perspectives of systems-level stakeholders, and explore the potential negative impact on caregivers, especially for Admission Avoidance Hospital at Home, as this service may become increasingly utilised to manage rising visits to emergency departments.

Intervening to eliminate the centre-effect variation in home dialysis use: protocol for Inter-CEPt-a sequential mixed-methods study designing an intervention bundle

INTRODUCTION

Use of home dialysis by centres in the UK varies considerably and is decreasing despite attempts to encourage greater use. Knowing what drives this unwarranted variation requires in-depth understanding of centre cultural and organisational factors and how these relate to quantifiable centre performance, accounting for competing treatment options. This knowledge will be used to identify components of a practical and feasible intervention bundle ensuring this is realistic and cost-effective.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

Underpinned by the non-adoption, abandonment, scale-up, spread and sustainability framework, our research will use an exploratory sequential mixed-methods approach. Insights from multisited focused team ethnographic and qualitative research at four case study sites will inform development of a national survey of 52 centres. Survey results, linked to patient-level data from the UK Renal Registry, will populate a causal graph describing patient and centre-level factors, leading to uptake of home dialysis and multistate models incorporating patient-level treatment modality history and mortality. This will inform a contemporary economic evaluation of modality cost-effectiveness that will quantify how modification of factors facilitating home dialysis, identified from the ethnography and survey, might yield the greatest improvements in costs, quality of life and numbers on home therapies. Selected from these factors, using the capability, opportunity and motivation for behaviour change framework (COM-B) for intervention design, the optimal intervention bundle will be developed through workshops with patients and healthcare professionals to ensure acceptability and feasibility. Patient and public engagement and involvement is embedded throughout the project.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

Ethics approval has been granted by the Health Research Authority reference 20-WA-0249. The intervention bundle will comprise components for all stake holder groups: commissioners, provider units, recipients of dialysis, their caregivers and families. To reache all these groups, a variety of knowledge exchange methods will be used: short guides, infographics, case studies, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines, patient conferences, 'Getting it Right First Time' initiative, Clinical Reference Group (dialysis).

Assisted peritoneal dialysis across Europe: Practice variation and factors associated with availability

BACKGROUND

In Europe, the number of elderly end-stage kidney disease patients is increasing. Few of those patients receive peritoneal dialysis (PD), as many cannot perform PD autonomously. Assisted PD programmes are available in most European countries, but the percentage of patients receiving assisted PD varies considerably. Hence, we assessed which factors are associated with the availability of an assisted PD programme at a centre level and whether the availability of this programme is associated with proportion of home dialysis patients.

METHODS

An online survey was sent to healthcare professionals of European nephrology units. After selecting one respondent per centre, the associations were explored by χ ² tests and (ordinal) logistic regression.

RESULTS

In total, 609 respondents completed the survey. Subsequently, 288 respondents from individual centres were identified; 58% worked in a centre with an assisted PD programme. Factors associated with availability of an assisted PD programme were Western European and Scandinavian countries (OR: 5.73; 95% CI: 3.07-10.68), non-academic centres (OR: 2.01; 95% CI: 1.09-3.72) and centres with a dedicated team for education (OR: 2.87; 95% CI: 1.35-6.11). Most Eastern & Central European respondents reported that the proportion of incident and prevalent home dialysis patients was <10% (72% and 63%), while 27% of Scandinavian respondents reported a proportion of >30% for both incident and prevalent home dialysis patients. Availability of an assisted PD programme was associated with a higher incidence (cumulative OR: 1.91; 95% CI: 1.21-3.01) and prevalence (cumulative OR: 2.81; 95% CI: 1.76-4.47) of patients on home dialysis.

CONCLUSIONS

Assisted PD was more commonly offered among non-academic centres with a dedicated team for education across Europe, especially among Western European and Scandinavian countries where higher incidence and prevalence of home dialysis patients was reported.

Renal staffs' understanding of patients' experiences of transition from peritoneal dialysis to in-centre haemodialysis and their views on service improvement: A multi-site qualitative study in England and Australia

INTRODUCTION

Many studies have explored patients' experiences of dialysis and other treatments for kidney failure. This is the first qualitative multi-site international study of how staff perceive the process of a patient's transition from peritoneal dialysis to in-centre haemodialysis. Current literature suggests that transitions are poorly coordinated and may result in increased patient morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to understand staff perspectives of transition and to identify areas where clinical practice could be improved.

METHODS

Sixty-one participants (24 UK and 37 Australia), representing a cross-section of kidney care staff, took part in seven focus groups and sixteen interviews. Data were analysed inductively and findings were synthesised across the two countries.

RESULTS

For staff, good clinical practice included: effective communication with patients, well planned care pathways and continuity of care. However, staff felt that how they communicated with patients about the treatment journey could be improved. Staff worried they inadvertently made patients fear haemodialysis when trying to explain to them why going onto peritoneal dialysis first is a good option. Despite staff efforts to make transitions smooth, good continuity of care between modalities was only reported in some of the Australian hospitals where, unlike the UK, patients kept the same consultant. Timely access to an appropriate service, such as a psychologist or social worker, was not always available when staff felt it would be beneficial for the patient. Staff were aware of a disparity in access to kidney care and other healthcare professional services between some patient groups, especially those living in remote areas. This was often put down to the lack of funding and capacity within each hospital.

CONCLUSIONS

This research found that continuity of care between modalities was valued by staff but did not always happen. It also highlighted a number of areas for consideration when developing ways to improve care and provide appropriate support to patients as they transition from peritoneal dialysis to in-centre haemodialysis.

Non-medical barriers reported by nephrologists when providing renal replacement therapy or comprehensive conservative management to end-stage kidney disease patients: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Large international differences exist in access to renal replacement therapy (RRT) modalities and comprehensive conservative management (CCM) for patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD), suggesting that some patients are not receiving the most appropriate treatment. Previous studies mainly focused on barriers reported by patients or medical barriers (e.g. comorbidities) reported by nephrologists. An overview of the non-medical barriers reported by nephrologists when providing the most appropriate form of RRT (other than conventional in-centre haemodialysis) or CCM is lacking.

METHODS

We searched in EMBASE and PubMed for original articles with a cross-sectional design (surveys, interviews or focus groups) published between January 2010 and September 2018. We included studies in which nephrologists reported barriers when providing RRT or CCM to adult patients with ESKD. We used the barriers and facilitators survey by Peters et al. [Ruimte Voor Verandering? Knelpunten en Mogelijkheden Voor Verbeteringen in de Patiëntenzorg. Nijmegen: Afdeling Kwaliteit van zorg (WOK), 2003] as preliminary framework to create our own model and performed meta-ethnographic analysis of non-medical barriers in text, tables and figures.

RESULTS

Of the 5973 articles screened, 16 articles were included using surveys (n = 10), interviews (n = 5) and focus groups (n = 1). We categorized the barriers into three levels: patient level (e.g. attitude, role perception, motivation, knowledge and socio-cultural background), level of the healthcare professional (e.g. fears and concerns, working style, communication skills) and level of the healthcare system (e.g. financial barriers, supportive staff and practice organization).

CONCLUSIONS

Our systematic review has identified a number of modifiable, non-medical barriers that could be targeted by, for example, education and optimizing financing structure to improve access to RRT modalities and CCM.

How do patients and their family members experience the transition from peritoneal dialysis to incentre haemodialysis? A multisite qualitative study in England and Australia

BACKGROUND

While numerous studies have explored the patient experience of dialysis or other end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) treatments, few have explored the process of transitioning between dialysis modalities. This study aimed to develop an in-depth understanding of patient and caregiver perceptions and experiences of the transition from peritoneal to haemodialysis (HD) and to identify ways in which transitions can be optimised.

METHODS

Fifty-four in-depth, semi-structured interviews were undertaken at six study sites across the West Midlands, UK (n = 23), and Queensland, Australia (n = 31). Thirty-nine participants were patients with ESKD; the remainder were family members. An inductive analytical approach was employed, with findings synthesised across sites to identify themes that transcended country differences.

RESULTS

Of the 39 patient transitions, only 4 patients reported a wholly negative transition experience. Three cross-cutting themes identified common transition experiences and areas perceived to make a difference to the treatment transition: resistance to change and fear of HD; transition experience shared with family; and bodily adjustment and sense of self.

CONCLUSION

Although each transition is unique to the individual and their circumstances, kidney care services could optimise the process by recognising these patient-led themes and developing strategies that engage with them. Kidney care services should consider ways to keep patients aware of potential future treatment options and present them objectively. There is potential value in integrating expert support before and during treatment transitions to identify and address patient and family concerns.

Patient and caregiver perspectives on burnout in peritoneal dialysis

BACKGROUND

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) can offer patients more autonomy and flexibility compared with in-center hemodialysis (HD). However, burnout - defined as mental, emotional, or physical exhaustion that leads to thoughts of discontinuing PD - is associated with an increased risk of transfer to HD. We aimed to describe the perspectives of burnout among patients on PD and their caregivers.

METHODS

In this focus group study, 81 patients and 45 caregivers participated in 14 focus groups from 9 dialysis units in Australia, Hong Kong, and the United States. Transcripts were analyzed thematically.

RESULTS

We identified two themes. Suffering an unrelenting responsibility contributed to burnout, as patients and caregivers felt overwhelmed by the daily regimen, perceived their life to be coming to a halt, tolerated the PD regimen for survival, and had to bear the burden and uncertainty of what to expect from PD alone. Adapting and building resilience against burnout encompassed establishing a new normal, drawing inspiration and support from family, relying on faith and hope for motivation, and finding meaning in other activities.

CONCLUSIONS

For patients on PD and their caregivers, burnout was intensified by perceiving PD as an unrelenting, isolating responsibility that they had no choice but to endure, even if it held them back from doing other activities in life. More emphasis on developing strategies to adapt and build resilience could prevent or minimize burnout.

Social support predicted quality of life in people receiving haemodialysis treatment: A cross-sectional survey

Aims

To examine levels of social support and quality of life (QOL) and to examine the association between social support and QOL in patients receiving haemodialysis (HD) treatment.

Design

A cross-sectional study.

Method

social support and QOL were measured using the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived social Support (MSPSS) and the World Health Organization QOL-BREF questionnaires, respectively. A convenience sample of 195 patients receiving HD from different dialysis units across Jordan completed the questionnaires.

Results

Respondents scored highest on the social relationships domain of QOL (55.5 SD 21.4) compared with the lowest mean scores of the physical and environmental domains (48.6 SD 20.4; 46.2 SD 17.3, respectively). social support had a positive significant association with quality of life. Multiple linear regression identified age and social support as influencing factors, explaining 24.6% of the total variance in the social domain of quality of life.Understanding the relationship between social support and QOL in patients receiving HD may provide guidance to the healthcare providers, family members and social services about the importance of social support to this group of patients.

International Variations in Peritoneal Dialysis Utilization and Implications for Practice

In many countries, the use of peritoneal dialysis (PD) remains low despite arguments that support its greater use, including dialysis treatment away from hospital settings, avoidance of central venous catheters, and potential health economic advantages. Training patients to manage aspects of their own care has the potential to enhance health literacy and increase patient involvement, independence, quality of life, and cost-effectiveness of care. Complex reasons underlie the variable use of PD across the world, acting at the level of the patient, the health care team that is responsible for them, and the health care system that they find themselves in. Important among these is the availability of competitively priced dialysis fluid. A number of key interventions can affect the uptake of PD. These include high-quality patient education around dialysis modality choice, timely and successful catheter placement, satisfactory patient training, and continued support that is tailored for specific needs, for example, when people present late requiring dialysis. Several health system changes have been shown to increase PD use, such as targeted funding, PD First initiatives, or physician-inserted PD catheters. This review explores the factors that explain the considerable international variation in the use of PD and presents interventions that can potentially affect them.

Home self-administration of intravenous antibiotics as part of an outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy service: a qualitative study of the perspectives of patients who do not self-administer

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to use a theoretical approach to understand the determinants of behaviour in patients not home self-administering intravenous antibiotics.

SETTING

Outpatient care: included patients were attending an outpatient clinic for intravenous antibiotic administration in the northeast of Scotland.

PARTICIPANTS

Patients were included if they had received more than 7 days of intravenous antibiotics and were aged 16 years and over. Twenty potential participants were approached, and all agreed to be interviewed. 13 were male with a mean age of 54 years (SD +17.6).

OUTCOMES

Key behavioural determinants that influenced patients' behaviours relating to self-administration of intravenous antibiotics.

DESIGN

Qualitative, semistructured in-depth interviews were undertaken with a purposive sample of patients. An interview schedule, underpinned by the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF), was developed, reviewed for credibility and piloted. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analysed thematically using the TDF as the coding framework.

RESULTS

The key behavioural determinants emerging as encouraging patients to self-administer intravenous antibiotics were the perceptions of being sufficiently knowledgeable, skilful and competent and that self-administration afforded the potential to work while administering treatment. The key determinants that impacted their decision not to self-administer were lack of knowledge of available options, a perception that hospital staff are better trained and anxieties of potential complications.

CONCLUSION

Though patients are appreciative of the skills and knowledge of hospital staff, there is also a willingness among patients to home self-administer antibiotics. However, the main barrier emerges to be a perceived lack of knowledge of ways of doing this at home. To overcome this, a number of interventions are suggested based on evidence-based behavioural change techniques.

Barriers to Education and Shared Decision Making in the Chronic Kidney Disease Population: A Narrative Review

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Provision of education to inform decision making for renal replacement therapy (RRT) is a key component in the management of chronic kidney disease (CKD), yet patients report suboptimal satisfaction with the process of selecting a dialysis modality. Our purpose is to review the influencers of RRT decision making in the CKD population, which will better inform the process of shared decision making between clinicians and patients.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

PubMed and Google Scholar.

METHODS

A narrative review was performed using the main terms "chronic kidney disease," "CKD," "dialysis," "review," "decision-making," "decision aids," "education," and "barriers." Only articles in English were accessed. The existing literature was critically analyzed from a theoretical and contextual perspective and thematic analysis was performed.

KEY FINDINGS

Eight common themes were identified as influencers for decision making. "Patient-focused" themes including social influence, values and beliefs, comprehension, autonomy and sociodemographics, and "clinician-focused" themes including screening, communication, and engagement. Early predialysis education and decision aids can effectively improve decision making. Patient-valued outcomes need to be more fully integrated into clinical guidelines.

LIMITATIONS

This is not a systematic review; therefore, no formal tool was utilized to evaluate the rigor and quality of studies included and findings may not be generalizable.

IMPLICATIONS

Standardized comprehensive RRT education programs through multidisciplinary health teams can help optimize CKD patient education and shared decision making. Involving patients in the research process itself and implementing patient values and preferences into clinical guidelines can help to achieve a patient-centered model of care.

How does pre-dialysis education need to change? Findings from a qualitative study with staff and patients

BACKGROUND

Pre-dialysis education (PDE) is provided to thousands of patients every year, helping them decide which renal replacement therapy (RRT) to choose. However, its effectiveness is largely unknown, with relatively little previous research into patients' views about PDE, and no research into staff views. This study reports findings relevant to PDE from a larger mixed methods study, providing insights into what staff and patients think needs to improve.

METHODS

Semi-structured interviews in four hospitals with 96 clinical and managerial staff and 93 dialysis patients, exploring experiences of and views about PDE, and analysed using thematic framework analysis.

RESULTS

Most patients found PDE helpful and staff valued its role in supporting patient decision-making. However, patients wanted to see teaching methods and materials improve and biases eliminated. Staff were less aware than patients of how informal staff-patient conversations can influence patients' treatment decision-making. Many staff felt ill equipped to talk about all treatment options in a balanced and unbiased way. Patient decision-making was found to be complex and patients' abilities to make treatment decisions were adversely affected in the pre-dialysis period by emotional distress.

CONCLUSIONS

Suggested improvements to teaching methods and educational materials are in line with previous studies and current clinical guidelines. All staff, irrespective of their role, need to be trained about all treatment options so that informal conversations with patients are not biased. The study argues for a more individualised approach to PDE which is more like counselling than education and would demand a higher level of skill and training for specialist PDE staff. The study concludes that even if these improvements are made to PDE, not all patients will benefit, because some find decision-making in the pre-dialysis period too complex or are unable to engage with education due to illness or emotional distress. It is therefore recommended that pre-dialysis treatment decisions are temporary, and that PDE is replaced with on-going RRT education which provides opportunities for personalised education and on-going review of patients' treatment choices. Emotional support to help overcome the distress of the transition to end-stage renal disease will also be essential to ensure all patients can benefit from RRT education.

Home hemodialysis: a comprehensive review of patient-centered and economic considerations

Internationally, the number of patients requiring treatment for end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) continues to increase, placing substantial burden on health systems and patients. Home hemodialysis (HD) has fluctuated in its popularity, and the rates of home HD vary considerably between and within countries although there is evidence suggesting a number of clinical, survival, economic, and quality of life (QoL) advantages associated with this treatment. International guidelines encourage shared decision making between patients and clinicians for the type of dialysis, with an emphasis on a treatment that aligned to the patients’ lifestyle. This is a comprehensive literature review of patient-centered and economic impacts of home HD with the studies published between January 2000 and July 2016. Data from the primary studies representing both efficiency and equity of home HD were presented as a narrative synthesis under the following topics: advantages to patients, barriers to patients, economic factors influencing patients, cost-effectiveness of home HD, and inequities in home HD delivery. There were a number of advantages for patients on home HD including improved survival and QoL and flexibility and potential for employment, compared to hospital HD. Similarly, there were several barriers to patients preferring or maintaining home HD, and the strategies to overcome these barriers were frequently reported. Good evidence reported that indigenous, low-income, and other socially disadvantaged individuals had reduced access to home HD compared to other forms of dialysis and that this situation compounds already-poor health outcomes on renal replacement therapy. Government policies that minimize barriers to home HD include reimbursement for dialysis-related out-of-pocket costs and employment-retention interventions for home HD patients and their family members. This review argues that home HD is a cost-effective treatment, and increasing the proportion of patients on this form of dialysis compared to hospital HD will result in a more equitable distribution of good health outcomes for individuals with ESKD.

Exploring patients' attitudes to different intervention approaches for supporting psychosocial needs

BACKGROUND

Many patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) have significant psychosocial needs as a consequence of their illness and treatment. Unmet needs can impact negatively on their health and well-being. Patients want improved psychosocial support particularly in relation to coping and adjustment. Little is known about the relevance and applicability to patients of intervention approaches to support their psychosocial needs.

OBJECTIVES

To explore patients' attitudes to different intervention approaches that could be developed to help them cope with the psychosocial stressors of ESKD, and to assess the potential acceptability of these approaches.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

Qualitative interviews and mini-focus groups were undertaken with 15 patients who have ESKD. Different intervention approaches were shown to participants through use of audio-visual films. Constant comparative data analysis was employed to derive a framework of categories and themes, guided by stress and coping theory.

RESULTS

Psychosocial support was viewed by patients as an essential constituent of quality care. While some intervention approaches were more or less popular than others, responses were overall variable and individualistic, seemingly influenced by participants' personal coping strategies. Any perceived connection with depression could make an intervention approach less attractive; physical exercise was particularly acceptable because there was no explicit association with someone not coping.

CONCLUSIONS

There is value in clinicians making available a choice of appropriately timed and tailored interventions to meet patients' different psychosocial support needs at key points of distress across the ESKD pathway. Congruence between intervention features and patient coping style could stimulate interest and take-up.

Integrating emotional and psychological support into the end-stage renal disease pathway: a protocol for mixed methods research to identify patients' lower-level support needs and how these can most effectively be addressed

BACKGROUND

As a result of difficulties related to their illness, diagnosis and treatment, patients with end-stage renal disease experience significant emotional and psychological problems, which untreated can have considerable negative impact on their health and wellbeing. Despite evidence that patients desire improved support, management of their psychosocial problems, particularly at the lower-level, remains sub-optimal. There is limited understanding of the specific support that patients need and want, from whom, and when, and also a lack of data on what helps and hinders renal staff in identifying and responding to their patients' support needs, and how barriers to doing so might be overcome. Through this research we therefore seek to determine what, when, and how, support for patients with lower-level emotional and psychological problems should be integrated into the end-stage renal disease pathway.

METHODS/DESIGN

The research will involve two linked, multicentre studies, designed to identify and consider the perspectives of patients at five different stages of the end-stage renal disease pathway (Study 1), and renal staff working with them (Study 2). A convergent, parallel mixed methods design will be employed for both studies, with quantitative and qualitative data collected separately. For each study, the data sets will be analysed separately and the results then compared or combined using interpretive analysis. A further stage of synthesis will employ data-driven thematic analysis to identify: triangulation and frequency of themes across pathway stages; patterns and plausible explanations of effects.

DISCUSSION

There is an important need for this research given the high frequency of lower-level distress experienced by end-stage renal disease patients and lack of progress to date in integrating support for their lower-level psychosocial needs into the care pathway. Use of a mixed methods design across the two studies will generate a holistic patient and healthcare professional perspective that is more likely to identify viable solutions to enable implementation of timely and integrated care. Based on the research outputs, appropriate support interventions will be developed, implemented and evaluated in a linked follow-on study.

Improving clinical skills to support the emotional and psychological well-being of patients with end-stage renal disease: a qualitative evaluation of two interventions

Background

Many patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) need and want improved emotional and psychological support. Explicit attention to patients' emotional issues during consultations can help, yet renal consultants rarely address emotional problems. This qualitative study aimed to evaluate whether two different low-cost interventions could individually enable consultants to talk with patients about their emotional concerns during routine outpatient consultations.

Method

One intervention involved patients using a Patient Issues Sheet to identify two to three issues they would like to talk about in their consultation and the second involved consultants asking patients a direct question about their emotional feelings. Consultants were trained to handle any emotional issues raised. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five consultants and 36 ESRD patients from two UK renal units. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using the constant comparative method.

Results

Although consultants and patients tended to use the two interventions in different ways, they expressed generally positive views about how helpful the interventions were in promoting discussion of emotional issues. Consultants appreciated the training for facilitating empathetic handling of patients' emotional disclosures and containment of discussion. Most patients who raised emotional concerns were satisfied with their consultant's responses, while others were dissuaded from more explicit discussion by their consultant's concentration on physical considerations.

Conclusions

These qualitative study findings suggest that both interventions are feasible and acceptable and have the potential to help consultants improve emotional and psychological patient care, providing cognitive and behavioural tools to enable discussion of emotional issues during routine outpatient consultations.