Exploring Early Symptom Experiences and Self-Management Strategies Among Postoperative Kidney Transplant Patients on Symptom Management Theory: A Qualitative Study.

Background: After kidney transplantation, patients need to take immunosuppressants for life to maintain their kidney functions. However, patients still face various symptoms and reactions after the surgery, which poses great challenges to their kidney rehabilitation and public health management. This study is based on the symptom management theory and focuses on exploring the unique experiences of real symptom perception and symptom management coping strategies of kidney transplant patients in the early postoperative period.

Methods: This study adopted the descriptive qualitative research method. From February to April in 2025, 13 patients who underwent kidney transplantation were recruited by purposive sampling in a tertiary hospital in Northeast China. Data collection was conducted through semi-structured one-on-one interviews, and the data were analyzed using content analysis method.

Results: This study identified a total of 4 themes and 9 sub-themes, namely: (1) The diversity and complexity of symptom experiences (irregular dynamic changes, excessive symptom burden); (2) Coping strategies for symptom experiences (positive approach to challenges, negative responses to symptoms); (3) Adverse effects of symptoms (affecting personal values, family relationships, and social interactions); (4) Barriers to symptom management (internal and external factors).

Conclusion: This study indicates that kidney transplant patients exhibit various symptoms and reactions in the early postoperative period and these reactions change irregularly. This also emphasizes the importance for clinical nursing researchers to dynamically assess the postoperative symptom reactions of kidney transplant patients. Based on the results of this study, clinical nurses can guide kidney transplant patients to adopt correct and positive coping strategies to manage their symptoms, establish an optimistic psychological state and perception of the disease, and by improving the internal and external influencing factors of symptom management, strengthen the relevant health education training for patients after surgery.