Experiences of patients undergoing dialysis who are from ethnic and racial minorities.
Neha Nagpal, Carla Boutin-Foster, Jennifer Melendez and 8 others
PMID 27977065WHAT IT FOUND
Black and Latino adults on dialysis said starting treatment felt abrupt and unexpected, everyday life and family roles changed, and they leaned on faith, family and resignation to keep going.
Key findings
01Participants commonly said the start of dialysis felt abrupt and unexpected, and they felt ill-prepared.
02Being on dialysis meant changing almost every aspect of life, including diet and fluids, social interactions, family responsibilities and the worry of being a burden.
03Some participants found strength in faith and family, while others described resignation and abandoning earlier goals.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only 36 patients were interviewed, all from a single dialysis centre in a low-resource community, so the themes may not apply to other settings. The study focused on Black and Latino patients and did not include white patients or other socioeconomic backgrounds, so it cannot say whether experiences are the same across groups. Interviews were conducted only in English, so patients who preferred another language may not be represented. Interviews took place while patients were undergoing dialysis, which may have affected comfort, fatigue or what participants chose to say. The study described experiences and did not test any intervention, so it cannot show what improves dialysis outcomes.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. No funding source is reported in the supplied text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the themes as proof that early education, culturally tailored advice or faith-based support improve dialysis outcomes. This study described what 36 patients said, not tested interventions, so it cannot show what works.