Development of a Resource for Health Professionals to Raise Advance Care Planning Topics During Kidney Care Consultations: A Multiple User-Centered Design
Kidney Medicine(2024)
Abstract
Rationale & Objective
Planning and delivering treatment pathways that integrate end-of-life care, frailty assessment and enhanced supportive care is a service priority. Despite this, people with kidney failure are less likely to have an advance care plan, and receive hospice and palliative care, compared to other chronic illness populations. This is linked to health professionals feeling unskilled initiating conversations around future treatment and care options. This article describes research underpinning the development of a guide for kidney health professionals discussing end-of-life and advance care planning options with people with kidney failure and family members.
Study Design
The study comprised two parts: an initial cross-sectional qualitative approach using in-depth interviews with older adults with kidney failure and (bereaved) carers, followed by resource development with input from multiple stakeholders.
Setting & Participants
Older adults with kidney failure, and (bereaved) carers, recruited from two renal units in the North of England, and via online advertisements with national UK based, kidney patient charities. Resource development included input from co-applicants, independent advisory committee, patient and public involvement team, multidisciplinary health professionals and academics in the UK and Denmark.
Analytical Approach
Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data.
Results
Twenty-seven people were interviewed: older adults with kidney failure (n=18), carers (n=5), bereaved carers (n=4). Five themes are described: the context within which end-of-life conversations take place, preferences for end-of-life treatment and care, family members’ role and needs in supporting people with kidney failure at the end-of-life, expectations and experience of dialysis treatment, beliefs and experiences of death and dying.
Limitations
Participants were mainly White, British, and receiving hemodialysis.
Conclusions
People with (lived) experience of kidney failure informed a guide which aims to build upon health professionals existing skills and improve confidence having conversations about future treatment and care. Kidney teams have expressed interest implementing the guide in practice and within their broader communications training packages.
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Key words
Kidney failure (advanced kidney disease,end stage renal failure,end stage kidney disease,chronic kidney disease),advance care planning (personalized care planning,anticipatory care),end-of-life care,palliative care (palliative treatment,hospice care),healthcare professionals (renal physicians,clinicians,kidney doctors,nephrologists,dialysis nurses,renal nurses,kidney nurses,nephrology nurses)
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