Illness Perceptions In South Asian Haemodialysis Patients

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    The role of illness perceptions in designing psychological interventions for haemodialysis (HD) patients

  • IRAS ID

    211221

  • Contact name

    Rishma Bhatti

  • Contact email

    rbhatti@nhs.net

  • Sponsor organisation

    East and North Herts NHS Trust

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    0 years, 10 months, 26 days

  • Research summary

    The current study seeks to use qualitative focus group methodology to explore, for the first time, the illness perceptions of two of the most prominent groups of South Asian renal patients- those who primarily communicate in Urdu or Gujarati. By bringing together a multi-disciplinary team with expertise in nephrology, psychology, psychiatry, and research methods, informed by lived patient experience, we hope to; Identify the renal specific illness perceptions of South Asian HD patients, and compare illness perceptions of patients with different comorbidities in order to understand if illness beliefs are compromised due to the presence of other health complications. This is important as diabetic and cardiovascular issues are common in South Asian patients when compared to their white counterparts. Finally we also seek to learn whether patients are more comfortable in having discussions with their care team framed around illness perceptions versus other aspects of their health per se. For example, experiences of mental health difficulties such as depression.

    The research will be based across 4 renal services, where South Asian languages are dominant. The focus groups will be audio recorded, transcribed and translated, then explored using thematic analysis.

  • REC name

    East of England - Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    16/EE/0483

  • Date of REC Opinion

    21 Dec 2016

  • REC opinion

    Further Information Favourable Opinion