Dataset Information

Identifying Modifiable System-Level Barriers to Living Donor Kidney Transplantation.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Studying existing health systems with variable living donor kidney transplantation (LDKT) performance and understanding factors that drive these differences can inform comprehensive system-level approaches to improve LDKT. We aimed to quantify previously identified barriers and estimate their association with LDKT performance.

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional survey of health professionals (HPs). Statements, rated on a Likert scale of "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree", captured themes related to communication; role perception; HP's education, training and comfort; attitudes; referral process; patient; as well as resources and infrastructure. The percentage who agreed with these statements was analyzed and compared by LDKT performance (living donation rates higher or lower than the national average) and participant characteristics.

Results

We obtained 353 complete responses. Themes related to poor communication, poor role perception, and HPs education or training or comfort emerged as barriers to LDKT. When compared with HPs from high-performing provinces, those from low-performing provinces had lower odds of agreeing that their province promoted LDKT (adjusted odd ratio [aOR] = 0.27, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.16-0.48). They also had lower odds of initiating discussions about LDKT (aOR = 0.30, 95% CI: 0.17-0.55), and higher odds of agreeing that the transplant team is best suited to discuss LDKT (aOR = 2.64, 95% CI: 1.60-4.33) and that more resources would increase LDKT discussions (aOR = 2.06, 95% CI: 1.25-3.40). Nonphysician role and less than 10 years of experience were associated with the level of agreement across several themes. Creating guidelines, streamlining evaluations, and improving communication were ranked as priorities to increase LDKT.

Conclusion

There are system-level barriers to LDKT and some were more prevalent in low-performing provinces. Interventions to eliminate them should be implemented in conjunction with patient-level interventions as part of a comprehensive system-level approach to increase LDKT.

SUBMITTER: Sandal S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9751709 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Identifying Modifiable System-Level Barriers to Living Donor Kidney Transplantation.

Sandal Shaifali S Schiller Ian I Dendukuri Nandini N Robert Jorane-Tiana JT Katergi Khaled K Alam Ahsan A Cantarovich Marcelo M Fiore Julio F JF Suri Rita S RS Landsberg David D Weber Catherine C Fortin Marie-Chantal MC

Kidney international reports 20220909 11

<h4>Introduction</h4>Studying existing health systems with variable living donor kidney transplantation (LDKT) performance and understanding factors that drive these differences can inform comprehensive system-level approaches to improve LDKT. We aimed to quantify previously identified barriers and estimate their association with LDKT performance.<h4>Methods</h4>We conducted a cross-sectional survey of health professionals (HPs). Statements, rated on a Likert scale of "strongly disagree" to "str ...[more]

PMID: 36531889

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundLiving donor kidney transplantation (LDKT) is the best treatment option for patients with kidney failure and offers significant medical and economic advantages for both patients and health systems. Despite this, rates of LDKT in Canada have stagnated and vary significantly across Canadian provinces, the reasons for which are not well understood. Our prior work has suggested that system-level factors may be contributing to these differences. Identifying these factors can help inform system-level interventions to increase LDKT.ObjectiveOur objective is to generate a systemic interpretation of LDKT delivery across provincial health systems with variable performance. We aim to identify the attributes and processes that facilitate the delivery of LDKT to patients, and those that create barriers and compare these across systems with variable performance. These objectives are contextualized within our broader goal of increasing rates of LDKT in Canada, particularly in lower-performing provinces.MethodsThis research takes the form of a qualitative comparative case study analysis of 3 provincial health systems in Canada that have high, moderate, and low rates of LDKT performance (the percentage of LDKT to all kidney transplantations performed). Our approach is underpinned by an understanding of health systems as complex adaptive systems that are multilevel and interconnected, and involve nonlinear interactions between people and organizations, operating within a loosely bounded network. Data collection will comprise semistructured interviews, document reviews, and focus groups. Individual case studies will be conducted and analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Following this, our comparative analysis will operationalize resource-based theory to compare case study data and generate explanations for our research question.ResultsThis project was funded from 2020 to 2023. Individual case studies were carried out between November 2020 and August 2022. The comparative case analysis will begin in December 2022 and is expected to conclude in April 2023. Submission of the publication is projected for June 2023.ConclusionsBy investigating health systems as complex adaptive systems and making comparisons across provinces, this study will identify how health systems can improve the delivery of LDKT to patients with kidney failure. Our resource-based theory framework will provide a granular analysis of the attributes and processes that facilitate or create barriers to LDKT delivery across multiple organizations and levels of practice. Our findings will have practice and policy implications and help inform transferrable competencies and system-level interventions conducive to increasing LDKT.International registered report identifier (irrid)DERR1-10.2196/44172.

Project description:BackgroundPatients with kidney failure represent a major public health burden, and living donor kidney transplantation (LDKT) is the best treatment option for these patients. Current work to optimize LDKT delivery to patients has focused on microlevel interventions and has not addressed interdependencies with meso and macro levels of practice.ObjectiveWe aimed to learn from a health system with historically low LDKT performance to identify facilitators and barriers to LDKT. Our specific aims were to understand how LDKT delivery is organized through interacting macro, meso, and micro levels of practice and identify what attributes and processes of this health system facilitate the delivery of LDKT to patients with kidney failure and what creates barriers.DesignWe conducted a qualitative case study, applying a complex adaptive systems approach to LDKT delivery, that recognizes health systems as being made up of dynamic, nested, and interconnected levels, with the patient at its core.SettingThe setting for this case study was the province of Quebec, Canada.ParticipantsThirty-two key stakeholders from all levels of the health system. This included health care professionals, leaders in LDKT governance, living kidney donors, and kidney recipients.MethodsSemi-structured interviews with 32 key stakeholders and a document review were undertaken between February 2021 and December 2021. Inductive thematic analysis was used to generate themes.ResultsOverall, we identified strong links between system attributes and processes and LDKT delivery, and more barriers than facilitators were discerned. Barriers that undermined access to LDKT included fragmented LDKT governance and expertise, disconnected care practices, limited resources, and regional inequities. Some were mitigated to an extent by the intervention of a program launched in 2018 to increase LDKT. Facilitators driven by the program included advocacy for LDKT from individual member(s) of the care team, dedicated resources, increased collaboration, and training opportunities that targeted LDKT delivery at multiple levels of practice.LimitationsDelineating the borders of a "case" is a challenge in case study research, and it is possible that some perspectives may have been missed. Participants may have produced socially desirable answers.ConclusionsOur study systematically investigated real-world practices as they operate throughout a health system. This novel approach has cross-disciplinary methodological relevance, and our findings have policy implications that can help inform multilevel interventions to improve LDKT.

Project description:BackgroundLiving donor kidney transplantation (LDKT) has several advantages over deceased donor kidney transplantation. Yet rates of living donation are declining in Canada and there exists significant interprovincial variability. Efforts to improve living donation tend to focus on the patient and barriers identified at their level, such as not knowing how to ask for a kidney or lack of education. These efforts favor those who have the means and the support to find living donors. Thus, a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)-organized workshop recommended that education efforts to understand and remove barriers should focus on health professionals (HPs). Despite this, little attention has been paid to what they identify as barriers to discussing LDKT with their patients.ObjectiveOur aim was to explore HP-identified barriers to discuss living donation with patients in 3 provinces of Canada with low (Quebec), moderate (Ontario), and high (British Columbia) rates of LDKT.DesignThis study consists of an interpretive descriptive approach as it enables to move beyond description and inform clinical practice.SettingPurposive criterion and quota sampling were used to recruit HPs from Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia who are involved in the care of patients with kidney disease and/or with transplant coordination.PatientsNot applicable.MeasurementsSemistructured interviews were conducted. The interview guide was developed based on a preliminary analytical framework and a review of the literature.MethodsThematic analysis was used to analyze the data stemming from the interviews. The coding process comprised of a deductive and inductive approach, and the use of a qualitative analysis software (NVivo 11). Following this, themes were identified and developed. Interviews were conducted until thematic saturation was obtained. In total, we conducted 16 telephone interviews as thematic saturation was attained.ResultsSix predominant themes emerged: (1) lack of communication between transplant and dialysis teams, (2) absence of referral guidelines, (3) role perception and lack of multidisciplinary involvement, (4) HP's lack of information and training, (5) negative attitudes of some HP toward LDKT, (6) patient-level barriers as defined by the HP. HPs did mention patients' attitudes and some characteristics as the main barriers to discussions about living donation; this was noted in all provinces. HPs from Ontario and British Columbia indicated multiple strategies being implemented to address some of these barriers. Those from Ontario mentioned strategies that center on the core principles of provincial-level standardization, while those from British Columbia center on engaging the entire multidisciplinary team and improved role perception. We noted a dearth of such efforts in Quebec; however, efforts around education and promotion, while tentative, have emerged.LimitationsSocial desirability and selection bias. Our analysis might not be applicable to other provinces.ConclusionsHPs involved with the referral and coordination of transplantation play a major role in access to LDKT. We have identified challenges they face when discussing living donation with their patients that warrant further assessment and research to inform policy change.

Dataset Information

Identifying Modifiable System-Level Barriers to Living Donor Kidney Transplantation.

Introduction

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Identifying Modifiable System-Level Barriers to Living Donor Kidney Transplantation.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets