Kidney transplant patients' attitudes towards self-management support: A Q-methodological study

Effectiveness of a health communication intervention on health literacy in the first year following kidney transplantation - A randomized controlled study

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of a new health communication intervention focusing on knowledge management skills on health literacy and medication adherence during the first year following kidney transplantation.

METHODS

We randomized 195 patients during 2020-2021, to either intervention- or control group. Questionnaires were completed at baseline and at 12 months post-transplantation with a 12-month response rate of 84%. Health literacy was measured by the multidimensional Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLQ) instrument. Medication adherence was measured by the self-reported questionnaire (BAASIS©).

RESULTS

Results showed that the intervention group had a significant increase in 2 HLQ domains compared to the control group capturing the "ability to appraise health information" Domain 5, (p-value = 0.002) and the "ability to navigate the healthcare system" Domain 7, (p-value <0.04). The effect sizes of SRM were 0.49 (Domain 5) and 0.33 (Domain 7). Medication adherence was comparable in the groups at any measure points.

CONCLUSIONS

This study contributes to important knowledge about how a health communication intervention focusing on knowledge translation using motivational interviewing techniques positively strengthens health literacy in kidney transplant recipients.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS

Current patient education practice may benefit from focusing on knowledge translation in combination with motivational interview technique.

Development and validation of the Chinese version of the self-management support scale for kidney transplant recipients

BACKGROUND

Providing self-management support to kidney transplant recipients is essential. However, a scale to identify the self-management support they have received is lacking. The purpose of this study is to develop a Self-management Support Scale for Kidney Transplant Recipients (SMSSKTR) and test its psychometric properties.

METHODS

This is an instrument development and validation study, which has a three-stage cross-sectional design. In Stage 1, a preliminary item pool was formed using a literature review, semi-structured interviews, and the Delphi method. In Stage 2, six experts were invited to assess content validity. A convenience sample of 313 participants was used to explore the factor structure by using exploratory factor analysis. The test-retest reliability was assessed using the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). In Stage 3, two hundred and sixty-five participants were recruited to validate the factor structure by using confirmatory factor analysis. Convergent validity was examined using Spearman's correlation coefficient. Cronbach's alpha coefficient and corrected item-total correlation coefficient were used to test the reliability of the entire scale and its dimensions. The study was reported according to the STARD and GRRAS checklists.

RESULTS

An initial 40-item scale was developed in Stage 1. In Stage 2, three factors with 22 items emerged from the exploratory factor analysis: instrumental support, psychosocial support, and relational support. The content validity index of the scale was 0.97. The intra-class correlation coefficient for the entire scale and the subscales were 0.915, 0.771, 0.896, and 0.832, respectively. In Stage 3, the confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the three-factor model had a good fit. The score of the scale was positively associated with that of the Self-Management Scale of Renal Transplant Recipients (r = 0.532). Cronbach's alpha was 0.959 for the entire scale and 0.956-0.958 for the three subscales. The corrected item-total correlation coefficient ranged from 0.62 to 0.82.

CONCLUSION

The 22-item SMSSKTR has sufficient psychometric properties to assess the self-management support they have received, which has not been measured before.

Self-management in adults after solid-organ transplantation: a scoping review protocol

INTRODUCTION

After solid-organ transplantation (SOTx), recipients must adhere to a lifelong medical regimen, change their lifestyle and cope with physiological and psychosocial challenges. This requires active participation in their care and self-management abilities. The concept of self-management after SOTx has only been described regarding specific organs and focused on adherence to medical treatment. A comprehensive conceptualisation of self-management entailing all solid organs and beyond medical aspects does not exist. This might lead to unmet self-management support needs of SOTx recipients and hinder a more holistic and integrative approach in self-management support. Therefore, a better understanding of the concept of self-management after SOTx is needed to facilitate a comprehensive evidence base for healthcare providers and researchers. The purpose of this scoping review is to explore existing evidence on self-management in adults after SOTx.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

To identify relevant evidence, six electronic databases and three study registers will be searched, supplemented by handsearches, reference checking and expert recommendations. Screening and selection of available evidence will be carried out in a two-step process by two independent reviewers. International evidence published in English or German reporting on adults after heart, lung, liver, pancreas, kidney or small bowel transplantation will be considered. To meet inclusion criteria, articles have to focus on either: self-management, self-management support or recipients' or healthcare providers' perspectives of challenges and needs potentially addressable by self-management. Data extraction will be performed by two reviewers independently using a structured form. Data will be analysed descriptively and using content analysis procedures. Findings will be summarised narratively and presented in tabular format.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

The consultation and approval of an ethics committee is not required for this scoping review. Findings of the scoping review will be published in a peer-reviewed open-access journal and presented at conferences.

Waiting for kidney transplantation from deceased donors: Experiences and support needs during the waiting time -A qualitative study

OBJECTIVES

The study aimed to explore and describe patients' experiences of the transplantation process and the support they had received during the waiting time.

METHOD

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 patients currently waiting for kidney transplantation from deceased donors (n = 7) or recently having received kidney transplantation (n = 7). Interviews were transcribed, anonymized and analysed inductively using thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Two themes and seven sub-themes were identified. The first theme, "Swaying between hope and despair" describes patients' perceptions of waiting for transplantation as a struggle, their expectations for life after the upcoming transplantation and experienced disappointments. The second theme, "Making your way through the waiting time", describes support, strategies and behaviours used to manage the waiting time.

CONCLUSION

Patients described life while waiting for kidney transplantation as challenging, involving unexpected events, not understanding the transplantation process and having unrealistic expectations on life after transplantation. They also described support, strategies and behaviours used, some of which led to unwanted consequences.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Patients waiting for kidney transplantation from deceased donors need continuous and easily available education, practical and emotional support to manage the waiting time. Transplantation specific education is also needed to facilitate preparation for transplantation and adjustment to life after transplantation.

Q-Methodology and Psychological Phenotyping to Design Patient-Centered Diabetes Education for Persons With Type 2 Diabetes on Insulin Therapy

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to identify the psychological phenotypes of persons with type 2 diabetes (T2D) on insulin therapy to better inform personalized diabetes education strategies to improve self-management behaviors.

METHODS

Q-methodology, a research approach combining the quantitative rigor of statistical analysis with qualitative data on perception of diabetes self-management by persons with T2D on insulin therapy, was used. The Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activity measure and A1C in the past 6 months were used to further describe self-management behaviors of each P-sample, Q-sorter. Of 160 statements, 33 Q-sample statements were selected as Q-set. Then, 37 P-samples (24 men; 13 women) were recruited from a university-affiliated diabetes clinic in South Korea. Data obtained from each P-sample with a Q-set and a Q-sorting table, a forced-choice normal distribution table, were analyzed using varimax rotation.

RESULTS

Forty-one percent of the variance was explained with 5 factors represented by 27 Q-sorters, explaining variance ranging from 5% to 17% for each factor: Factor A (n = 6): those showing self-management education need but possessing inadequate health literacy; Factor B (n = 4): those valuing lifestyle modification to control diabetes; Factor C (n = 5): those valuing antidiabetic medication to control diabetes; Factor D (n = 6): carpe diem, accepting diabetes as destiny; and Factor E (n = 6): those overestimating their competencies to control diabetes. Ten Q-sorters fell into either confounded or nonsignificant.

CONCLUSIONS

Tailoring messages and educational approaches based on patients' psychological phenotypes are necessary to promote optimal self-management behaviors.

Nurse-led self-management support after organ transplantation-protocol of a multicentre, stepped-wedge randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Recipients of an organ transplantation face a number of challenges and often need to change their health behaviour. Good self-management skills are essential for optimal clinical outcomes. However, few interventions are available to support post-transplant self-management. To fill this gap, we developed a self-management support intervention offered by nurse practitioners. The primary aim of the study is to implement and test the effectiveness of the ZENN intervention in promoting self-management skills among heart, kidney liver and lung transplant recipients in comparison to standard care. The secondary aim is to assess the self-management support skills of nurse practitioners who will deliver the intervention.

METHODS

This multi-centre stepped-wedge randomized controlled trial will take place from September 2020 until May 2023. All departments will commence with inclusion of patients in the control period. Each department will be randomly assigned to a start date (step in the wedge) to commence the experimental period. Patients in the control period will receive standard care and will be asked to complete questionnaires at baseline (T0), 6 months (T1) and 12 months (T2), to assess self-management, self-regulation, quality of life and adherence. During the experimental period, patients will receive standard care plus the ZENN intervention and receive the same set of questionnaires as participants in the control period. Nurse practitioners will complete a baseline and follow-up questionnaire to assess differences in self-management support skills. Video recordings of outpatient clinic consultations during the control and experimental periods will determine the differences in nurses' needs-thwarting and needs-supporting skills between the control and experimental period.

DISCUSSION

The ZENN intervention could be a useful approach to support patients' self-management skills after organ transplantation and thus promote clinical outcomes as well as avoid adverse events.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Dutch Trial Register NL8469 . Registered on March 19, 2020.

A scoping review of Q-methodology in healthcare research

BACKGROUND

Q-methodology is an approach to studying complex issues of human 'subjectivity'. Although this approach was developed in the early twentieth century, the value of Q-methodology in healthcare was not recognised until relatively recently. The aim of this review was to scope the empirical healthcare literature to examine the extent to which Q-methodology has been utilised in healthcare over time, including how it has been used and for what purposes.

METHODS

A search of three electronic databases (Scopus, EBSCO-CINAHL Complete, Medline) was conducted. No date restriction was applied. A title and abstract review, followed by a full-text review, was conducted by a team of five reviewers. Included articles were English-language, peer-reviewed journal articles that used Q-methodology (both Q-sorting and inverted factor analysis) in healthcare settings. The following data items were extracted into a purpose-designed Excel spreadsheet: study details (e.g., setting, country, year), reasons for using Q-methodology, healthcare topic area, participants (type and number), materials (e.g., ranking anchors and Q-set), methods (e.g., development of the Q-set, analysis), study results, and study implications. Data synthesis was descriptive in nature and involved frequency counting, open coding and the organisation by data items.

RESULTS

Of the 2,302 articles identified by the search, 289 studies were included in this review. We found evidence of increased use of Q-methodology in healthcare, particularly over the last 5 years. However, this research remains diffuse, spread across a large number of journals and topic areas. In a number of studies, we identified limitations in the reporting of methods, such as insufficient information on how authors derived their Q-set, what types of analyses they performed, and the amount of variance explained.

CONCLUSIONS

Although Q-methodology is increasingly being adopted in healthcare research, it still appears to be relatively novel. This review highlight commonalities in how the method has been used, areas of application, and the potential value of the approach. To facilitate reporting of Q-methodological studies, we present a checklist of details that should be included for publication.

Patients' Experiences of Life Challenges After Liver Transplantation: A Qualitative Study

Patients experience a new life with different challenges after liver transplantation (LT). Identifying these challenges can facilitate the improvement of their quality of life. This study aimed to explore patients’ experiences of post-LT life challenges. This qualitative study was performed in 2019 through the content analysis approach. Participants were liver transplant recipients purposively recruited from a LT clinic. Semistructured interviews were conducted for data collection. Data were analyzed through Graneheim and Lundman’s conventional content analysis approach. Meaning units were identified and coded, and the codes were grouped into subcategories and categories according to their similarities. In total, 18 transplant recipients were interviewed. Their age mean was 51 years and their transplant age ranged from 4 months to 12 years. Their post-LT life challenges were categorized into 4 main categories, that is, self-care deficit, the need for seeking information, fears and concerns, and hope–despair duality. Nurses and members of LT team are recommended to assess transplant recipients’ life challenges and develop comprehensive plans for managing their challenges and problems and improving their quality of life.

Effectiveness of IT-based interventions on self-management in adult kidney transplant recipients: a systematic review

Background

Kidney transplant outcomes are broadly associated with transplant recipients’ capacity in following a complex and continuous self-management regimen. Health information technology has the potential to empower patients. This systematic review aimed to determine the impacts of IT-based interventions for self-management in kidney transplant recipients.

Methods

A comprehensive investigation was performed in MEDLINE (via PubMed) and EMBASE (via Scopus) in April 2019. Eligible studies were the randomized controlled trials which aimed to design an automated IT-based intervention. All English papers including adult kidney transplant recipients were included. To assess the clinical trial’s quality, Cochrane Collaboration’s assessment tool was employed. The articles were integrated based on category of outcomes, characteristics of interventions, and their impact. The interventions were classified based on the used IT-based tools, including smart phones, coverage tools, computer systems, and a combination of several tools. The impact of interventions was defined as: (1) positive effect (i.e. statistically significant), and (2) no effect (i.e. not statistically significant).

Results

A total of 2392 articles were retrieved and eight publications were included for full-text analysis. Interventions include those involving the use of computerized systems (3 studies), smart phone application (3 studies), and multiple components (2 studies). The studies evaluated 30 outcomes in total, including 24 care process and 6 clinical outcomes. In 18 (80%) out of 30 outcomes, interventions had a statistically significant positive effect, 66% in process and 33% in clinical outcomes.

Conclusions

IT-based interventions (e.g. mobile health applications, wearable devices, and computer systems) can improve self-management in kidney transplant recipients (including clinical and care process outcomes). However, further evaluation studies are required to quantify the impact of IT-based self-management interventions on short- and long-term clinical outcomes as well as health care costs and patients' quality of life.

Profiles of family caregivers of patients at the end of life at home: a Q-methodological study into family caregiver' support needs

BACKGROUND

Family caregivers of patients at the end of life often experience care-related burden. To prevent caregiver burden and to enhance the capacity to provide care it is important to have insight in their support needs. The purpose of this study was to identify profiles of family caregivers who provide care to patients at the end of life at home.

METHODS

A Q-methodological study was conducted in which family caregivers ranked 40 statements on support needs and experiences with caregiving. Thereafter they explained their ranking in an interview. By-person factor analysis was used to analyse the rankings and qualitative data was used to support the choice of profiles. A set of 41 family caregivers with a variety on background characteristics who currently or recently provided care for someone at the end of life at home were included.

RESULTS

Four distinct profiles were identified; profile (1) those who want appreciation and an assigned contact person; profile (2) was bipolar. The positive pole (2+) comprised those who have supportive relationships and the negative pole (2-) those who wish for supportive relationships; profile (3) those who want information and practical support, and profile (4) those who need time off. The profiles reflect different support needs and experiences with caregiving.

CONCLUSIONS

Family caregivers of patients at the end of life have varying support needs and one size does not fit all. The profiles are relevant for healthcare professionals and volunteers in palliative care as they provide an overview of the main support needs among family caregivers of patients near the end of life. This knowledge could help healthcare professionals giving support.

'You have got a foreign body in there': renal transplantation, unexpected mild-to-moderate distress and patients' support needs: a qualitative study

OBJECTIVE

To explore why transplant patients experience unexpected mild-to-moderate distress and what support they may need.

DESIGN

Qualitative study using individual in-depth interviews.

SETTING

Four National Health Service (NHS) Trusts in the Midlands, UK.

PARTICIPANTS

Fifteen renal transplant patients meeting the criteria for mild-to-moderate distress from their responses to emotion thermometers.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Identification of the reasons for distress and support options acceptable to renal transplant patients.

RESULTS

Three themes were interpreted from the data: 'I am living with a "foreign body" inside me', 'why am I distressed?' and 'different patients want different support'. Following their transplant, participants felt that they should be happy and content, but this was often not the case. They described a range of feelings about their transplant, such as uncertainty about the lifespan of their new kidney, fear of transplant failure or fear of the donor having health conditions that may transfer to them. A few experienced survivors' guilt when others they had met at the dialysis unit had not received a transplant or because someone had died to enable them to receive the transplant. No longer having regular contact with the renal unit made participants feel isolated. Some participants did not initially attribute the source of their distress to their transplant. Participants' preferred support for their distress and their preferences about who should deliver it varied from peer support to seeing a psychologist.

CONCLUSIONS

Raising the issue of post-transplant mild-to-moderate distress with patients and encouraging them to think about and plan coping strategies pretransplant may prove beneficial for the patient and healthcare provider. Patients should be able to choose from a variety of support options.

Evaluating the feasibility of a nurse-led self-management support intervention for kidney transplant recipients: a pilot study

Background

To support effective self-management after kidney transplantation, a holistic nurse-led self-management support intervention was developed using the Intervention Mapping approach. The primary aim was to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability and fidelity of the intervention for kidney transplant recipients and professionals. The secondary aim was to explore preliminary effects on outcomes.

Methods

A pilot study was conducted in 2015–2017 to evaluate the intervention. Nurse Practitioners (NP) guided recipients in assessing 14 life areas using the Self-Management Web. Participants were supported in developing self-regulation skills which can be applied to self-management of the illness. Strategies included goal setting, action planning, and promotion of motivation and self-efficacy. Adult recipients from an outpatient clinic of a Dutch University Hospital who underwent their transplant at least 1 month ago, were invited to participate. NPs, nephrologists and recipients were interviewed to assess feasibility, fidelity and implementation experience. Consultations were videoed and analysed to assess fidelity. To assess the preliminary effects, the intervention group completed baseline (T0) and follow-up (T1) questionnaires on self-management behavior, self-efficacy, quality of life and quality of care. A historical control group of kidney transplant recipients completed the same questionnaires at T1.

Results

Twenty-seven recipients agreed to participate in the intervention group, of which 24 completed the intervention and 16 completed baseline and follow-up surveys. The control group consisted of 33 recipients. Professionals and recipients appraised the open, holistic focus of the intervention as a welcome addition to standard care and felt that this helped to build a relationship of trust. Recipients also felt they became more competent in problem-solving skills. The within-group analysis showed no significant increase in patients’ self-management skills. The between-groups analysis showed significantly higher medication adherence among the intervention group (P = 0.03; G = 0.81). The within-groups analysis showed a significantly higher perceived quality of care (P = 0.02) in the intervention group.

Conclusion

This holistic nurse-led self-management support intervention was found to be feasible and acceptable by professionals and recipients alike. This pilot had a small sample therefore further research is needed into the potential effects on self-management behavior and well-being of transplant recipients. ISRCTN Trial Registry: ISRCTN15057632 (registered retrospectively on 20-07-2018).

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12882-019-1300-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

[Structural Equation Modeling of Self-Care Behaviors in Kidney Transplant Patients Based on Self-Determination Theory]

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to test a hypothesis explaining direct and indirect relationships among the factors affecting self-care behaviors of kidney transplant patients, based on self-determination theory.

METHODS

Data were collected from 222 outpatients with kidney transplantation. The endogenous and exogenous variables of the hypothetical model consisted of healthcare provider's autonomy support, duration after kidney transplantation, basic psychological need satisfaction, autonomous and controlled motivation, depression, and self-care behaviors. Collected data were analyzed using SPSS/WIN 24.0 and AMOS 24.0.

RESULTS

The hypothetical model demonstrated a good fit: RMSEA=.06, SRMR=.04, TLI=.94, CFI=.97. Statistically significant explanatory variables for the self-care behaviors of kidney transplant patients were duration after transplantation and basic psychological need satisfaction. Healthcare provider's autonomy support was indirectly significant, while autonomous motivation, controlled motivation and depression were not statistically significant for self-care behaviors. The variables accounted for 59.5% of the self-care behaviors of kidney transplant patients.

CONCLUSION

It is necessary to develop an autonomy support program for healthcare providers to enhance the self-care behaviors of kidney transplant patients. Preventing the deterioration of self-care behaviors will be possible by conducting this program at one year and six years post-transplantation. In addition, the results suggest the need to developing personalized autonomy support programs for healthcare providers that can meet the basic psychological need satisfaction of kidney transplant patients.

Balancing everyday life-Patients' experiences before, during and four months after kidney transplantation

AIM

To explore patients' experiences before, during and four months after kidney transplantation as a coherent process.

DESIGN

A qualitative explorative study with a phenomenological-hermeneutic approach.

METHODS

Participant observations and semi-structured interviews were used complementary. In total, 18 kidney recipients were included. Data were analysed in accordance with Ricoeur's theory of interpretation, on three levels: naïve reading, structural analysis and critical interpretation and discussion.

RESULTS

Three themes emerged: waiting time and hope during everyday life, transformation during the kidney transplantation process and towards a new everyday life with positive prospects. Going through the kidney transplantation process was challenging for the patients. Everyday life was affected through the process, and the patients had to balance the associated challenges like hope, positive prospects and health-related issues.

A Nurse-Led Self-Management Support Intervention (ZENN) for Kidney Transplant Recipients Using Intervention Mapping: Protocol for a Mixed-Methods Feasibility Study

Background

Optimal self-management in kidney transplant recipients is essential for patient and graft survival, reducing comorbidity and health care costs while improving the quality of life. However, there are few effective interventions aimed at providing self-management support after kidney transplantation.

Objective

This study aims to systematically develop a nurse-led, self-management (support) intervention for kidney transplant recipients.

Methods

The Intervention Mapping protocol was used to develop an intervention that incorporates kidney transplant recipients’ and nurses’ needs, and theories as well as evidence-based methods. The needs of recipients and nurses were assessed by reviewing the literature, conducting focus groups, individual interviews, and observations (step 1). Based on the needs assessment, Self-Regulation Theory, and the “5A’s” model, change objectives were formulated (step 2). Evidence-based methods to achieve these objectives were selected and subsequently translated into practical implementation strategies (step 3). Then, program materials and protocols were developed accordingly (step 4). The implementation to test the feasibility and acceptability was scheduled for 2015-2017 (step 5). The last step of Intervention Mapping, evaluation of the intervention, falls outside the scope of this paper (step 6).

Results

The intervention was developed to optimize self-management (support) after kidney transplantation and targeted both kidney transplant recipients and nurse practitioners who delivered the intervention. The intervention was clustered into four 15-minute sessions that were combined with regular appointments at the outpatient clinic. Nurses received a training syllabus and were trained in communication techniques based on the principles of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy and Motivational Interviewing; this entailed guiding the patients to generate their own goals and solutions and focus on strengths and successes. Kidney transplant recipients were encouraged to assess self-management challenges using the Self-Management Web and subsequently develop specific goals, action plans, and pursuit skills to solve these challenges.

Conclusions

The Intervention Mapping protocol provided a rigorous framework to systematically develop a self-management intervention in which nurses and kidney transplant recipients’ needs, evidence-based methods, and theories were integrated.

International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)

DERR1-10.2196/11856

Rising Need for Health Education Among Renal Transplant Patients and Caregiving Competence in Care Providers

Background:

Health education positively affects the efficacy of self-management and should be carried out according to the status of patients’ needs, knowledge, and the competence of the primary caregivers.

Objectives:

This study was to investigate the needs of health education knowledge in transplant patients and the competence of the primary caregivers.

Methods:

This is a cross-sectional study using a convenient sampling approach. Self-report questionnaires were applied to 351 renal transplantation patients and their primary caregivers.

Results:

Three-hundred nine valid questionnaires were included in the analysis. The intensive care unit environment, stress coping strategies, the operation procedure, anesthesia and adverse reactions, and hand hygiene were the 5 most poorly understood aspects in health education. Stress coping strategies, at-home self-monitoring of health, pulmonary infection prevention, dietary needs, and anesthesia and other adverse reactions were the top 5 health education needs. Decision and self-efficacy were the weakest caregiving competence. Significant positive correlations were observed between health education knowledge level and caregiving competence in the primary caregivers. Marriage, education level, career, expense reimbursement, and residence significantly contributed to the health education demand questionnaire model, whereas gender, age, ethnic group, education level, career, and expense reimbursement significantly contributed to health education knowledge questionnaire model ( P < .05).

Conclusion:

The renal transplant patients and their primary caregivers need health education on the intensive care unit environment, stress coping strategies, the operation procedure, and anesthesia and other adverse reactions. The primary caregivers need training in decision-making and self-efficacy.