A Qualitative Descriptive Study of Kidney Transplant Recipients Who Experience Graft Loss: A Forgotten Cohort
Background: Kidney transplantation (KT) is the best treatment for patients with kidney failure. But a KT does not last forever and many patients will eventually lose their transplanted kidney. There is barely any research about the experiences of patients who have lost a transplanted kidney. Also, no research has looked at how these patients decide what to do next – for example, whether or not to get another transplant. Because there is so little research on this, our aims are to: i) understand the experiences of patients who have lost a transplanted kidney; ii) understand how they decide on treatment afterwards.
Methods: This is a qualitative study, which means that we will gather information by talking to people who have lost a transplanted kidney to find out about their experiences and what they think. Firstly, we will ask 30 people who have lost a KT to keep a diary for six months, where they can write about their experiences. After that, we will interview them to talk about these experiences.
Anticipated findings: The findings of this study will be in-depth accounts about the experience of graft loss, in the words of the people who experience it. By finding out about the experience of losing a transplanted kidney from people directly, we can also make sure that strategies to improve healthcare for these patients are firmly based on their perspectives.
Significance: Understanding more about the experiences of people with a failed KT has been identified as a priority. There is so little research about what care patients need after a losing a transplanted kidney. Clearly, we need to know more about this from the perspective of patients so that we can improve care for them if their graft fails. Our study will get these perspectives and inform strategies to improve patient care.