Factors promoting shared decision-making in renal replacement therapy for patients with end-stage kidney disease: systematic review and qualitative meta-synthesis

PURPOSE: Shared decision-making (SDM) about the type of renal replacement therapy to use is a matter of great importance involving patients, their families, and health treatment teams. This review aims to synthesize the volume of qualitative work explaining the factors influencing SDM regarding renal replacement therapy. METHODS: A systematic review and qualitative meta-synthesis approach recommended by JBI was used, six databases were searched. Studies were qualitative or mixed research published since 2000, with a primary focus on patient experiences, perceptions and practices regarding which method to choose for renal replacement therapy in End-Stage Kidney Disease (ESKD) patients. All themes were analyzed and compared to the established connectedness. RESULTS: A total of 1313 patients were enrolled in 32 studies focusing on factors associated with SDM regarding renal replacement therapy were included. All quality evaluations of the literature were medium to high. Four common themes were identified in our synthesis: (1) patient personal reasons, (2) family-related factors, (3) health care professional-related factors, and (4) social factors influence. CONCLUSION: The model proposes pathways that could be explored further in future qualitative and quantitative studies and suggests that patients’ beliefs, emotions, and awareness should be targeted alongside patients’ decision-making practices to increase the efficacy of interventions. The majority of studies included in this review focus on older patients, and all report patients’ perspectives. Further research is required to understand the family member perspectives on SMD of renal replacement therapy. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11255-021-02913-8.