Patients’ experiences from their received education about the process of kidney transplant: A qualitative study

BACKGROUND: Kidney transplant needs long term treatment, care and a follow up. Patients with kidney transplant need support in fields of knowledge, skills and motivations. Several researches showed existing challenges regarding education of these patients. A qualitative study was conducted to define patients’ experiences from their received education about the process of kidney transplant. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a qualitative study with a content analysis approach. Sampling was purposive up to data saturation. The participants aged 18-60 years, had experienced transplantation. The data were collected by semi-structural individual in-depth interviews with 18 participants. The interviews were analyzed by Graneheim and Lundman content analysis method. FINDINGS: Three general themes of “educational experiences at the beginning of transplantation”, “educational experiences in post transplantation care”, and “patients’ struggle to enhance their awareness in order to preserve their transplanted kidney” were emerged. CONCLUSIONS: The findings showed that patients’ did not receive adequate knowledge about kidney transplant process. This issue reveals an unstructured and uncoordinated education given to kidney transplant patients by health team members during kidney transplant process. With regard to high motivation of the patients, designing such educational program based on self-management in the process of kidney transplant for these recipients is essential. Nurses in their educational role can enable the patients through educating them about problem solving methods and selection of the best solution to preserve their transplanted kidney and consider renal transplant recipient self-management as their first priority toward these patients.