Dialysis peer mentorship program feasible, beneficial to patients
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KANSAS CITY, Missouri — A peer mentorship program for patients on dialysis proved to be feasible and beneficial to participants, according to a poster presentation at the Annual Dialysis Conference.
“When starting dialysis there's so much fear, anxiety and uncertainty. It's really hard to be a dialysis patient,” Sara Selis, LCSW, a primary investigator and social worker at Satellite Healthcare, told Healio.
In their study, researchers recruited English-speaking patients with kidney replacement therapy to enter a mentorship program of patients on dialysis.
Mentors completed an online training course offered by the End-stage Renal Disease Network Peer Mentoring Program. According to Selis, the training teaches mentors to educate mentees about different modalities and to refrain from recommending choices or medications.
“When it comes to patients starting dialysis, having a mentor there [helps],” John Cabaluna, an advocate and mentor in the program, told Healio. “You'll actually have somebody that will listen, instead of somebody telling you what to do.”
Researchers measured the mentor attendance at introductory mentorship meetings over a 6-month period. Among the 13 mentors who completed training, 11 participated in an introductory meeting.
A total of 20 mentees attended introductory meetings, and 86% indicated wanting to continue peer mentorship. Following the meeting, mentees reported the mentorship helped with anxiety and fears about dialysis. Additionally, they appreciated gaining advice and support from mentors’ lived experiences with kidney disease and dialysis.
Topics discussed at the introductory meeting included schedules, policies and adherence of dialysis therapy; self-care training, home hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, transplantation and future therapy; access, lifestyle; dialysis treatment effects; mental health; and meeting logistics.
Although the study only measured the introductory meeting attendance, Selis said many mentees continued to communicate with mentors afterwards.
“Mentors and the mentees want to participate in this,” Selis told Healio. “They find it helpful.”
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Selis S. Poster: 83370. Presented at: Annual Dialysis Conference. March 3-6, 2023; Kansas City, Missouri.
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