Gabriel Michelle L, Chen Lucy, Lee Sharon, Accettura Jenny, Campbell Emily E, Dissanayake Melanie, Valenzano-Hacker Teresa J, Nash Michelle, Rapi Lindita, Dacouris Niki, Yuan Weiqiu, Thai Tiffany
Unity Health Toronto, ON, Canada.
Kidney Transplant Program, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Can J Kidney Health Dis. 2025 Jun 3;12:20543581251338462. doi: 10.1177/20543581251338462. eCollection 2025.
Much of the literature on kidney transplant education focuses on educating recipients prior to transplant or in the early postoperative period. It is unknown whether the information provided is meaningful to patients or whether the importance of education topics changes with time.
We sought to identify the learning needs of patients post-kidney transplant.
Our multidisciplinary team conducted a mixed-method study to better understand the learning needs of patients; what is important to them in the early postoperative period and a year after transplant.
One urban academic hospital performing kidney transplant in Ontario, Canada. Data were collected between September 2019 and March 2021, including during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A convenience sample of 20 participants in the post-kidney transplant clinic. Participants' mean age was 56 (SD ± 11) with 75% of participants male gender.
Twenty kidney transplant patients were recruited between 3 and 6 months post-transplant. Participants completed an initial demographic questionnaire. They completed the Learning Needs Inventory (LNI) and a one-on-one semi-structured interview at 2 time points: 3 to 6 months post-transplant and 12 to 18 months post-transplant.
Patient interviews revealed that their access to a trustworthy health care team, support system, and reported challenges post-transplant shaped their ability to engage in learning. Patients shared that each aspect influences when and what topics were important to them, which allowed patients to obtain personalized education. A multidisciplinary team extending beyond physicians and nurses to include professionals such as pharmacists, dietitians, and social workers can best address patient-specific education needs post-transplant was highlighted in patients' comments. Patients revealed that their support system helps to develop self-reliance and support their transition after transplant to allow them to recover and manage challenges after transplant. Support systems varied from family, friends, colleagues and included social media and community organizations were helpful. Our study identified 3 realms of challenges post-transplant including: emotional, physical, and financial. Quantitative data showed significant findings on the level of importance regarding the use of alcohol, demonstrating a shift in median rating of "not important at all" to "not very important" ( = .016). A significant effect ( = .031) shifting the median rating of post-transplant dental care from of "a little important" to "very important."
The small convenience sample with only English-speaking patients used in this study may have affected our ability for generalizable results. Part of this study was completed during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have led to individual responses to vary, as priorities may have been different during the pandemic.
Only 2 topics (dental care and use of alcohol) shifted in importance. Most education topics (ie, rejection, infection) covered in 3 to 6 months post-transplant continued to be important for those that have had their transplant for more than a year suggesting the need for ongoing education post-transplant. Multidisciplinary care teams play an important role in providing personalized education to patients and help to address emotional, physical, and financial challenges after transplant. This study showed the importance of social media and community organizations in patients' education offering an additional avenue of support and to hear others, lived experiences.
Not registered.
许多关于肾移植教育的文献都集中在移植前或术后早期对受者进行教育。目前尚不清楚所提供的信息对患者是否有意义，以及教育主题的重要性是否会随时间而变化。
我们试图确定肾移植术后患者的学习需求。
我们的多学科团队进行了一项混合方法研究，以更好地了解患者的学习需求；在术后早期和移植后一年，对他们来说什么是重要的。
加拿大安大略省一家进行肾移植的城市学术医院。数据收集于2019年9月至2021年3月期间，包括在新冠疫情期间。
肾移植门诊的20名参与者的便利样本。参与者的平均年龄为56岁（标准差±11），75%的参与者为男性。
在移植后3至6个月招募了20名肾移植患者。参与者完成了一份初始人口统计学问卷。他们在两个时间点完成了学习需求量表（LNI）和一对一的半结构化访谈：移植后3至6个月和移植后12至18个月。
患者访谈显示，他们能否接触到值得信赖的医疗团队、支持系统以及移植后所报告的挑战，影响了他们参与学习的能力。患者表示，每个方面都会影响对他们来说何时以及哪些主题是重要的，这使得患者能够获得个性化教育。患者的评论强调，一个超越医生和护士、包括药剂师、营养师和社会工作者等专业人员的多学科团队，能够最好地满足移植后患者特定的教育需求。患者表示，他们的支持系统有助于培养自立能力，并支持他们在移植后的过渡，使他们能够康复并应对移植后的挑战。支持系统各不相同，包括家人、朋友、同事，社交媒体和社区组织也很有帮助。我们的研究确定了移植后三个方面的挑战，包括：情感、身体和经济方面。定量数据显示，关于饮酒重要性水平有显著发现，表明中位数评分从“一点也不重要”转变为“不太重要”（P = .016）。移植后牙齿护理的中位数评分从“有点重要”转变为“非常重要”有显著影响（P = .031）。
本研究中使用的样本量小且为便利样本，且仅包括讲英语的患者，这可能影响了我们得出可推广结果的能力。本研究的部分内容是在新冠疫情期间完成的，这可能导致个体反应有所不同，因为疫情期间的优先事项可能有所不同。
只有两个主题（牙齿护理和饮酒）的重要性发生了变化。移植后3至6个月涵盖的大多数教育主题（如排斥反应、感染），对于移植超过一年的患者来说仍然很重要，这表明移植后需要持续进行教育。多学科护理团队在为患者提供个性化教育以及帮助应对移植后的情感、身体和经济挑战方面发挥着重要作用。本研究表明了社交媒体和社区组织在患者教育中的重要性，提供了额外的支持途径，并能让患者了解他人的生活经历。
未注册。
