Experiences of adults on dialysis and waiting for a renal transplant from a deceased donor: a systematic review protocol

Review question/objective The objective of this systematic review is to synthesize qualitative evidence relating to experiences of adults with end stage renal failure who are on dialysis and waiting for a renal transplant from a deceased donor. Inclusion criteria Types of participants This review will consider studies that include adult patients who were aged 18 years and over when they started dialysis, in order to examine the experiences of adults rather than children or adolescents. It will only consider studies including people who are waiting for a renal transplant from a deceased donor and who have been on dialysis (hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis) for up to 15 years. The development of erythropoietin in the mid-1980’s combatted the effects of the anemia associated with end stage renal failure and considerably improved the quality of life of people on dialysis.Around the same time, advances in immunosuppressive medication meant that transplantation became a feasible option with good outcomes for more people. Therefore studies of people who have been on dialysis for up to 15 years will be included, because people who have been on dialysis for longer than 15 years may have had experiences that are not typical today. This review will not consider patients under the age of 18 years, patients receiving dialysis for acute renal failure, patients waiting for a transplant from a living donor or people waiting for a pre-emptive transplant from a deceased donor. Phenomena of interest This review will consider studies that investigate the experiences of adults waiting for a renal transplant from a deceased donor. More specifically the impact of waiting for transplant on lifestyle, coping strategies and day to day living will be included. Context This systematic review will consider studies that involve adults with end stage renal failure who are on either hemodialysis in a hospital, a satellite unit or at home, or on peritoneal dialysis , and who are waiting for a kidney transplant from a deceased donor.