Living kidney donors' experiences with the health care system.
The purpose of this study was to explore living kidney donors' perceived experiences with the health care system from the period prior to being tested as a potential donor, through to post donation discharge and follow-up. Qualitative methodology, using a phenomenological approach, explored the experiences, feelings, and ideas of 12 purposefully selected living kidney donors' interface with the health care system. Eight men and four women were interviewed four to 29 years post donation. Interviews were audio taped and transcribed verbatim. An iterative and interpretive analysis was conducted. Themes emerging from the data included factors influencing living kidney donors' decision to be tested as potential donors, the importance of emotional support, and humanistic care. This in turn impacted on their experience of: (1) the role of information in the decision-making process; (2) their tolerance of issues related to hospitalization and; (3) their perception of the quality of care. The findings of this study provide suggestions for the role of social work and improvement in the health care system to better address the needs of living kidney donors.
Centre for Studies in Family Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, Suite 245, 100 Collip Circle, London, ON, Canada N6G 4X8.
Judith Belle
JB
Brown
Mary Lou
ML
Karley
Neil
N
Boudville
Ruth
R
Bullas
Amit X
AX
Garg
Norman
N
Muirhead
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D054626:Consumer Health Information / Q000458:organization & administration; D003657:Decision Making; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000523:psychology*; D019520:Living Donors / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D012947:Social Work