Young adults with kidney failure lived experiences of kidney replacement therapy decision-making

Background

Young adults living with kidney failure make decisions to select a kidney replacement therapy choice in partnership with healthcare professionals. However, little is known about how they experience kidney replacement therapy treatment decision-making and the impact this has on their well-being.

Objectives

To explore young adults living with kidney failure experiences of treatment decision-making. The treatment decision-making investigated is about the choice of dialysis and/or kidney transplant options.

Design

A qualitative interpretive hermeneutic phenomenology study.

Participants

Purposeful sampling was used to recruit young adults with kidney failure from social media, electronic media such as local kidney group websites and word of mouth. Semistructured interviews were conducted with (n = 18) participants aged 18–30 years.

Approach

Inductive analysis of the data were performed using Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis framework.

Findings

The five themes generated were (1) awareness and anticipation of future kidney replacement therapy decision; (2) health information and education; (3) engaging in decision-making, support and choices; (4) implementation of kidney replacement therapy and transitioning into the new normal life and (5) the impact of decision-making and choice on well-being.

Conclusions

Decision-making significantly affected young adults' psychosocial and mental well-being. Young adults had unmet informational and decisional needs and struggled to cope due to lack of support. A four-talk model, with an implement talk phase added to the existing three-talk (team talk, option talk, decision talk) shared decision-making model, would promote a focus on the implementation of choice and support the transitioning from previous life to long-term dependence on treatment.