Educational Support Surrounding Chronic Kidney Disease: Qualitative Enquiry

Abstract

Objective: An estimated 15 million patients in England have at least 1 long-term condition, with the prevalence of chronic kidney disease rising. Understanding educational support can help navigate between health sectors. Methodology: This research used Qualitative Methodology, and an Inductive Content Analysis (ICA) approach which is particularly effective in linking theory, or framework. Two workshops took place in May and June (2019) wherein topic tagging activities were co-developed between the Renal Patient Support Group (RPSG) and the Kidney Disease and Renal Support Groups (KDARs) for Kids platforms. 19 participants between 4 cohorts, that included 6 General Practitioner (GPs), 4 Healthcare Scientists (HS), 3 Nephrologists/ Clinicians (N/Cs), and 6 CKD Patients (CKDPs) were recruited and participated in telephone interviews. Topic guides were developed for participant cohorts with several themes to collect data through one-to-one telephone interviews. NViVo-12 software provided opportunity to code and glean insight to develop overall conclusions Results: Nine main themes and several sub-themes were identified when coding for health professionals, and 9 main themes and several sub-themes identified when coding qualitative data for chronic kidney disease patients. Conclusion: There needs to be a coordinated effort between patients and professionals, to understand how chronic kidney disease education should be more integrated at point of care, and in line with public health.