Why do patients choose self-care dialysis?

Area of Science:

• Nephrology
• Patient Education
• Dialysis Modalities

Background:

• Self-care dialysis (SCD) offers potential cost savings and improved quality of life over in-centre hemodialysis.
• However, SCD adoption remains low, with less than 25% of patients utilizing this modality.
• Understanding patient-perceived advantages is crucial for increasing SCD uptake.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify perceived advantages of SCD linked to a higher likelihood of patients selecting it.
• To assess the impact of an educational intervention on patients' perceptions of SCD advantages.

Main Methods:

• A randomized study involving 70 patients with GFR < 30 ml/min.
• Comparison between standard pre-dialysis education and a multifaceted educational intervention.
• Patient questionnaires to identify SCD advantages and preferred dialysis modality, analyzed via inductive coding and ROC analysis.

Main Results:

• Three key advantages of SCD were identified: freedom, lifestyle, and control.
• Freedom and lifestyle advantages were significantly associated with increased odds of selecting SCD (OR 9.1 and 7.0, respectively).
• The educational intervention increased patient perception of freedom and control as advantages, reducing the likelihood of identifying no advantages.

Conclusions:

• Patient identification of freedom and lifestyle as advantages strongly predicts the choice of SCD.
• Enhanced education on dialysis modalities improves patient perception of SCD benefits, thereby increasing selection rates.
• Targeted educational strategies can effectively promote self-care dialysis adoption.