Understanding Equity of Access to Best Care in Kidney Failure (HI-CKD)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Understanding Equity of Access to Best Care for People with Kidney Failure (HI-CKD)
IRAS ID
345192
Contact name
Vera Nuritova
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Dundee
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
n/a, n/a
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 8 months, 19 days
Research summary
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a global public health concern with approximately 10% of all adults worldwide affected, and is predicted to become the 5th leading cause of death worldwide by 2040. There is currently no cure for CKD, and it often progresses to end stage kidney failure, resulting in the need for 'kidney replacement therapy' (KRT), including dialysis, kidney transplant, or conservative care. It is known that kidney transplantation offers patients a better quality of life and improved survival over other KRT modalities. There is increasing evidence that CKD does not affect everyone equally in the UK, with social deprivation, ethnicity, sex, gender, mental health, age and geography affecting the risk of developing CKD and how the disease progresses. It remains unknown whether these health inequalities lead to inequities in access to best treatments and associated adverse outcomes.
The aim of this qualitative study is to understand how health inequalities can lead to inequities in patient access to the best treatment for kidney failure (kidney transplant) and how to best address these issues.
The project consists of 3 phases:
Phase 1: Semi-structured interviews with NHS healthcare staff (n=15), patients and carers/support persons (n=15) to explore participants' perceptions and experiences of health inequalities and resultant inequities of access to best treatments.
Phase 2: Focus groups with NHS healthcare staff (n=20 across 2 focus groups), patients and carers/support persons (n=20 across 2 focus groups) to develop further in-depth collective understandings of equity of access to kidney transplantation and how these can be potentially addressed.
Phase 3: Co-design workshops (n=24 across 2 workshops) with NHS healthcare staff, patients and carers/support persons to develop inclusive and contextually appropriate approaches to improving equity of access to kidney transplantation.
Total participants N=94Findings from this study will help inform service redesign and delivery across Renal Medicine in Scotland.
REC name
North West - Liverpool Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/NW/0305
Date of REC Opinion
11 Nov 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion