Factors Associated with the Choice of Peritoneal Dialysis in Iran: Qualitative Study

Factors promoting shared decision-making in renal replacement therapy for patients with end-stage kidney disease: systematic review and qualitative meta-synthesis

PURPOSE

Shared decision-making (SDM) about the type of renal replacement therapy to use is a matter of great importance involving patients, their families, and health treatment teams. This review aims to synthesize the volume of qualitative work explaining the factors influencing SDM regarding renal replacement therapy.

METHODS

A systematic review and qualitative meta-synthesis approach recommended by JBI was used, six databases were searched. Studies were qualitative or mixed research published since 2000, with a primary focus on patient experiences, perceptions and practices regarding which method to choose for renal replacement therapy in End-Stage Kidney Disease (ESKD) patients. All themes were analyzed and compared to the established connectedness.

RESULTS

A total of 1313 patients were enrolled in 32 studies focusing on factors associated with SDM regarding renal replacement therapy were included. All quality evaluations of the literature were medium to high. Four common themes were identified in our synthesis: (1) patient personal reasons, (2) family-related factors, (3) health care professional-related factors, and (4) social factors influence.

CONCLUSION

The model proposes pathways that could be explored further in future qualitative and quantitative studies and suggests that patients' beliefs, emotions, and awareness should be targeted alongside patients' decision-making practices to increase the efficacy of interventions. The majority of studies included in this review focus on older patients, and all report patients' perspectives. Further research is required to understand the family member perspectives on SMD of renal replacement therapy.

How do patients and health professionals perceive the role of family members in the decision-making process regarding the choice of a dialysis method? A qualitative study

BACKGROUND

Therapeutic decisions often seem to be the product of interaction between health professionals and patients alone. However, some realities make it essential to consider family members when examining care of patients, especially in the construction of therapeutic choices. Implementation of measures such as therapeutic patient education to make the patient an actor in his own healthcare, and the impact of disease on the patient's social and professional activities mean there is an important place for family members in a patient's care pathway. This study aims to examine the role of family members and the family environment in decision-making on treatment for patients with chronic kidney disease. It also analyzes how they contribute to the construction of patients' choices on dialysis methods through their involvement in a therapeutic patient education program.

METHODS

This study involved thirty-six semi-structured interviews: sixteen with patients and twenty with health professionals. Therapeutic patient education sessions, interactions and information exchanges between patients and health professionals, as well as participant behaviours, were also observed. Analysis was thematic.

RESULTS

Results indicate that the factors influencing the patient's choice of dialysis methods include the family environment as the place where the disease is experienced, the need to maintain family ties, the advice provided by family members and their active participation in therapeutic patient education sessions and partnership between family members and health professionals in the decision-making process.

CONCLUSION

This study highlights the reality of decision-making processes that can start from a non-hospital setting. Furthermore, it argues for greater consideration of the needs, values, and preferences of family members in mechanisms designed to promote patient participation in therapeutic decisions.

Haemodialysis patients' experience with fatigue: a phenomenological study

Fatigue is one of the main and serious problems that affects haemodialysis patients' quality of life. It should be actively evaluated and, in this process, cooperation between the patient, their family, and healthcare staff is needed to examine fatigue and improve the quality of healthcare and the patient's life. The aim of the present research was to investigate haemodialysis patients' experiences of fatigue. In this qualitative phenomenological study, 12 participants were selected from haemodialysis patients in two health centres in Iran through purposeful sampling. Data were collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews and the collected data were analysed using Colaizzi's method. Two main themes, the nature of fatigue and the perception of fatigue, were found. In addition, the results revealed six secondary themes: physical problems, psychosocial problems, behavioural problems, limitations, need for support, and burnout. The results help to clarify the concept and nature of fatigue for this group of haemodialysis patients.

Prevalence of Hypertension in Renal Diseases in Iran: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND

Hypertension is a risk factor for renal disease. Therefore, this study was aimed at estimating the prevalence of hypertension in renal patients in Iran through meta-analysis.

METHODS

The search was carried out using authentic Persian and English keywords in national and international databases including IranMedex, SID, Magiran, IranDoc, Medlib, ScienceDirect, Pubmed, Scopus, Cochrane, Embase, Web of Science, Medline, and Google Scholar search engine without any time limitation until 2017. Heterogeneity of studies was assessed using the I 2 index. Data were analyzed using STATA ver 11.

RESULTS

In 35 reviewed studies with a sample of 39,621 subjects, the prevalence of hypertension in renal patients was 35% (95% CI: 29%-41%) (25% in women and 18% in men). The prevalence of systolic hypertension in renal patients was 5%, diastolic hypertension 26%, and diabetes 23%. The prevalence of hypertension in hemodialysis patients was 34%, 27% in peritoneal dialysis, 43% in kidney transplantation, and 26% in chronic renal failure. In addition, meta-regression showed that the prevalence of hypertension in renal patients did not significantly decrease during the years 1988-2017.

CONCLUSIONS

More than a third of kidney patients in Iran suffer from high blood pressure. The diastolic blood pressure of these patients is about five times higher than their systolic blood pressure. Moreover, the age group under 30 is a high-risk group. The prevalence of hypertension in women with kidney disease is higher than in men. In addition, patients who have kidney transplants are more likely to have high blood pressure than other kidney patients.