Development of a Symptom Self-Management Guide for Older Chinese Americans Kidney Receiving Replacement Therapy

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Nephrology
• Health Disparities

Background:

• Kidney disease prevalence is higher in Asian populations.
• Symptom self-management is crucial for patients undergoing kidney replacement therapy.
• Culturally tailored educational materials are needed for this demographic.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the acceptability of a newly developed symptom self-management booklet.
• To evaluate the booklet's content, design, and overall usability.
• To gather feedback for improving patient education materials for older Chinese Americans with kidney disease.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative study involving interviews with seven older Chinese Americans and their caregivers.
• Inductive thematic analysis of participant feedback on booklet acceptability.
• Assessment of content, graphics, design, reading experience, and preferred health information sources.

Main Results:

• Patients confirmed the overall acceptability of the symptom self-management booklets.
• Feedback covered content, graphics, design, and reading experience.
• The booklets were validated as a culturally sensitive health information source.

Conclusions:

• The developed booklets are an acceptable and valuable resource for older Chinese Americans with kidney disease.
• These materials can enhance culturally sensitive care and patient empowerment.
• Community-based participatory research is effective for creating appropriate patient education tools.