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Matus Gonzalez A, Lorca E, Cabrera S, Hernandez A, Zúñiga-Sm C, Sola L, Michea L, Ferreiro Fuentes A, Cervantes L, Madero M, Teixeira-Pinto A, Wong G, Craig J, Jaure A. Nephrologists' perspectives on the impact of COVID-19 on caring for patients undergoing dialysis in Latin America: a qualitative study. BMJ Open 2023; 13:e062321. [PMID: 37173110 PMCID: PMC10186081 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-062321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/15/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To describe the experiences of nephrologists on caring for patients undergoing in-centre haemodialysis during the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America. DESIGN Twenty-five semistructured interviews were conducted by Zoom videoconference in English and Spanish languages during 2020 until data saturation. Using thematic analysis, we conducted line-by-line coding to inductively identify themes. SETTING 25 centres across nine countries in Latin America. PARTICIPANTS Nephrologists (17 male and 8 female) were purposively sampled to include diverse demographic characteristics and clinical experience. RESULTS We identified five themes: shock and immediate mobilisation for preparedness (overwhelmed and distressed, expanding responsibilities to manage COVID-19 infection and united for workforce resilience); personal vulnerability (being infected with COVID-19 and fear of transmitting COVID-19 to family); infrastructural susceptibility of dialysis units (lacking resources and facilities for quarantine, struggling to prevent cross-contamination, and depletion of personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies); helplessness and moral distress (being forced to ration life-sustaining equipment and care, being concerned about delayed and shortened dialysis sessions, patient hesitancy to attend to dialysis sessions, being grieved by socioeconomic disparities, deterioration of patients with COVID-19, harms of isolation and inability to provide kidney replacement therapy); and fostering innovative delivery of care (expanding use of telehealth, increasing uptake of PD and shifting focus on preventing syndemics). CONCLUSION Nephrologists felt personally and professionally vulnerable and reported feeling helpless and morally distressed because they doubted their capacity to provide safe care for patients undergoing dialysis. Better availability and mobilisation of resources and capacities to adapt models of care, including telehealth and home-based dialysis, are urgently needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Matus Gonzalez
- Sydney School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Centre for Kidney Research, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Eduardo Lorca
- Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | | | | | - Carlos Zúñiga-Sm
- Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción, Concepción, Chile
- Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
| | - Laura Sola
- Centro de Hemodiálisis Crónica, Centro de Asistencia del Sindicato Medico del Uruguay- Institución de Asistencia Medica Privada de Profesionales sin fines de lucro (CASMU-IAMPP), Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Luis Michea
- Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | | | - Lilia Cervantes
- Department of Medicine and Office of Research, Denver Health, Denver, Colorado, USA
| | - Magdalena Madero
- Departamento de Nefrologia, Instituto Nacional de Cardiología, Ciudad de México, ciudad de Mexico (CDMX), México
| | - Armando Teixeira-Pinto
- Sydney School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Centre for Kidney Research, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Germaine Wong
- Sydney School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Centre for Kidney Research, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Jonathan Craig
- College of Medicine and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Allison Jaure
- Sydney School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Centre for Kidney Research, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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