As part of our drive to support patient focused research we fund a number of studies each year, including the Kidney Patient Research Partnership between Kidney Care UK and British Renal Society. The committee meets once a year to review and award research grants based on scientific merit and clinical relevance. Applications were invited from health care professionals for grants to fund patient-centred, multi-professional clinical research in the field of kidney disease and its treatment
This year five studies were awarded funding by Kidney Care UK totalling over £150,000:
University of Derby
Tailoring Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for patients receiving renal dialysis
The purpose of this project is to help patients with kidney failure who receive haemodialysis cope better with their treatment and improve their experience. We hope that this will ultimately improve their quality of life. The project will use a form of psychology therapy called acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), the aim of which is to help people engage more productively in ways of living that are consistent with their life goals and values, in spite of their health and medical difficulties. The basic principles of ACT will be taken and then specially tailored to suit patients receiving haemodialysis. ACT has not been tested in dialysis patients previously, but we do know that it is safe, suitable and effective in other long term medical conditions.
University of Hertfordshire
Does measuring patient experience of kidney care benefit patients?
Research has shown that patients with a good experience of healthcare tend to have good treatment outcomes and are more likely to take an active part in their care. Research suggests that if we ask patients about their experience, what they say can be used by renal teams and patients to work together to improve how care is designed and delivered. In the UK, the yearly kidney patient survey (KPREM) has been given to patients by their renal centres for the last three years. However, there isn’t much evidence on how the results of patient experience surveys like KPREM can best be used to help doctors and patients work together to improve care, and whether this type of work actually has an impact on patient experience. The aim is for it to work as a cycle: measure patient experience; take action where experience is worst; measure patient experience again to see if it has improved. The aim of this study is to see if measuring patient experience of kidney care benefits patients.
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
Wellbeing and Lifestyle for Transplantation (WALT)
People who have a transplant are at higher risk of developing conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and abnormal blood fats, which can lead to heart disease. Some people may not manage their medications which may lead to losing or harming their kidney transplant. Behaviour related factors can contribute to undesirable consequences. Supporting people to be able to manage their lifestyle in relation to diet, activity, sleep, mood etc, to help their overall wellbeing, could have long lasting and beneficial effects on the risk of subsequent conditions or improve how long the transplanted kidney can last. We will identify and expand on the views and experiences of different groups on information already available regarding healthy living and wellbeing post transplantation.
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust
Access to Transplantation and Transplant Outcome Measures (ATOMic)
The ATTOM (Access to Transplantation and Transplant Outcome Measures) programme explored differences in transplant access between adult UK kidney units and studied outcomes including quality of life. ATTOM’s findings have influenced the national kidney offering scheme. Differences in children’s kidney units need investigation so those likely to benefit from a transplant, have similar chances of receiving one. How kidney transplants are offered should be fair and consideration given to the likely effects on individuals’ quality of life. ATTOMic (ATTOM in children) aims to understand why kidneys are allocated differently across children’s kidney units and how receiving a transplant affects different children and families. Before ATTOMic can begin, we need new ways to measure quality of life in children and their families. Previous measures assumed that improved health meant improved quality of life. They did not consider the impact of other aspects of life important for an individual child’s quality of life. This project aims to create measures of quality of life and treatment satisfaction tailored to children with kidney problems.
Manchester University Foundation Trust
A Multi Professional Scoping Review to Examine Care Priorities and Outcomes for Frail Older Patients with Advanced CKD (4-5)
The multi-professional review will examine research studies of older people with chronic kidney disease (CKD) classified as advanced, which means it is at level where they are either on dialysis or close to starting dialysis. We will examine what has already been reported within the medical and social literature on outcomes; it is well known that medical outcomes often only relate to survival, when this is not the only priority for older people with CKD. We have a growing older CKD population and it is important to know how best we should support older people in the management of their condition, particularly if they are frail and struggle to manage some everyday activities. Evidence suggests outcomes such as quality of life (QoL), the burden of the treatment and fatigue are more important to patients. These topics are rarely studied leaving kidney clinicians with limited knowledge on how best to treat symptoms and whether dialysis makes things better or worse. We will bring groups of frail older people with CKD and their carers together and identify important research questions and priorities for patients, which will take forward into a larger research study.
2019 research grant applications
Applications for 2019 funding is not yet open.
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