Shared Decision Making in Dialysis Modality Selection: a Lived Experience From Nephrologists. A Nationwide Qualitative Study.

Brief summary (registry, in English)

International guidelines for kidney failure emphasize the importance of aligning renal replacement therapy (RRT) modality selection with individuals' preferences through high-quality, structured education. However, observational qualitative studies suggest that pre-dialysis education remains inconsistently delivered, with substantial centre-to-centre variation in the content and organization of Belgian pre-dialysis programs despite a shared healthcare policy. Multiple barriers to home-based therapies have been repeatedly reported at both the unit and patient levels, including nursing shortages, limited availability of trained staff, financial constraints, high rates of unplanned dialysis initiation, distress at treatment start, low health literacy, and an increasingly frail and comorbid patient population. Yet, a minority of dialysis units appear able to mitigate these barriers more effectively than others. This discrepancy raises concern that centre-oriented priorities (unit throughput, cost-effectiveness, technical performance) may still outweigh patient-centred goals (supporting life priorities and meaningful shared decision-making). This study aims to explore nephrologists' beliefs, knowledge, and attitudes regarding shared decision-making in dialysis modality selection and their potential influence on the adoption of alternative RRT modalities beyond in-centre hemodialysis. Q methodology will be used to capture and compare shared viewpoints and patterns of disagreement across participants.

What you commit to

• Study type: Interventional
• Participants enrolled: 25
• From 15 Mar 2024 to the primary completion date, 15 Sept 2025
• 1 site in 1 country
• Visits and tests: ask the trial team, the registry does not list them

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Who cannot take part

Copied verbatim from ClinicalTrials.gov and grouped by topic. Only the trial team decides who can take part.

Who the study is looking for

Age in the registry: 30 years to 67 years · Sex: All · Accepts healthy volunteers

Full criteria on ClinicalTrials.gov

Sites (1)

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