CKD patient perception of plant-based foods.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A Qualitative study exploring patient perception and barriers to increasing plant-based foods amongst CKD population in North west England.
IRAS ID
360408
Contact name
Rebecca Pearce
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Recent international guidance has recommended those with kidney disease increase the proportion of foods from plants. There is growing interest in the potential kidney protective benefit of replacing animal protein with plant protein.
Education already involves a lot of new and scientific sounding terms. The diet can feel restrictive and contradictory to advice to manage other health conditions e.g. diabetes or heart disease. Terms such as ‘plant-based diet’ or 'plant-based foods', can mean different things to different people and may mean nothing to others.
There is also low concordance to the kidney diet. Concordance can be seen as how much someone ‘sticks to’ their kidney diet. Often poor concordance is not deliberate. Many factors can make concordance more difficult for someone, such as:
• poor communication
• poor understanding
• lack of resources e.g. cooking skills, recipes, social support
• lack of confidence
• social and cultural importance of diet
Very little is known about kidney patients’ understanding, thoughts and feelings about increasing plant foods. In North west England, few patients follow a plant-based diet or eat plant-based proteins regularly. There is a heavy reliance on ultra-processed foods and many struggle to meet the national target of 5 portions of fruit and vegetables per day.
An interview study will be carried out with approximately 8 - 10 adults with "CKD 3-5" (not on renal replacement therapy).
They will be invited to attend a single interview lasting up to 60 minutes, which will be audio recorded. This kind of interview study will help dietitians and other health professionals to understand patients' views, perceptions and barriers to increasing plant foods. The findings will be used in the development of future services and educational resources, which will be better suited to meet the needs of patients and identify future research needs.REC name
London - Stanmore Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
26/PR/0142
Date of REC Opinion
1 Apr 2026
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion