title: Multisystemic engagement and nephrology based educational intervention: a randomized controlled trial protocol on the KidneyTteam At Home study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Living donor kidney transplantation (LDKT) is the most successful form of renal replacement therapy in terms of wait time and survival rates. However, we observed a significant inequality in the number of LDKT performed between the Dutch and the non-Dutch patients. The objective of this study is to adapt, implement and test an educational home-based intervention to contribute to the reduction of this inequality. Our aim is to establish this through guided communication together with the social network of the patients in an attempt that well-informed decisions regarding renal replacement therapy can be made: Multisystemic Engagement & Nephrology. This manuscript is a detailed description of the Kidney Team At Home-study protocol.
  
  
  METHODS
  All patients (>18 yrs) that are referred to the pre-transplantation outpatient clinic are eligible to participate in the study. Patients will be randomly assigned to either an experimental or a control group. The control group will continue to receive standard care. The experimental group will receive standard care plus a home-based educational intervention. The intervention consists of two sessions at the patient's home, an initial session with the patient and a second session for which individuals from their social network are invited to take part. Based on the literature and behavioural change theories we hypothesize that reducing hurdles in knowledge, risk perception, subjective norm, self-efficacy, and communication contribute to well-informed decision making and reducing inequality in accessing LDKT programs. A change in these factors is consequently our primary outcome-measure. Based on power calculations, we aim to include 160 patients over a period of two years.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  If we are able to show that this home-based group educational intervention contributes to 1) achieving well-informed decision regarding treatment and 2) reducing the inequality in LDKT, the quality of life of patients will be improved while healthcare costs are reduced. As the intervention is investigated in a random heterogeneous patient group in daily practice, the transfer to clinical practice in other kidney transplant centers should be relatively easy.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Netherlands Trial Register, NTR2730.
authors: Department of Medical Psychology, Erasmus MC, Burg, s' Jacobplein 51, Rotterdam, CA, 3015, The Netherlands. s.ismail@erasmusmc.nl
authors: Sohal Y
authors: SY
authors: Ismail
authors: Annemarie E
authors: AE
authors: Luchtenburg
authors: Willij C
authors: WC
authors: Zuidema
authors: Charlotte
authors: C
authors: Boonstra
authors: Willem
authors: W
authors: Weimar
authors: Emma K
authors: EK
authors: Massey
authors: Jan J
authors: JJ
authors: Busschbach
mesh_terms: D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology / Q000601:surgery*; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000208:ethnology / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology; D019520:Living Donors / Q000193:education* / Q000523:psychology; D009398:Nephrology / Q000379:methods*; D010348:Patient Care Team; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D011446:Prospective Studies