Menu
Recruiting NCT06845605

Behind the Needle: Healthcare Professionals' Perspectives on HD Needling

— Observational Perspective of Healthcare Professionals Haemodialysis Needling Dialysis

For patients and families

In plain language

An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.

What is being studied
This is an observational study: the protocol does not assign a study treatment.
Who it may be relevant to
Registry conditions: Perspective of Healthcare Professionals Haemodialysis Needling, Dialysis. Basic parameters: No limits · All.
What needs checking
Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
Where it takes place
United Kingdom
Next step
Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →

Unsure about the terms? Read our patient guide →

Official title

A Qualitative Exploration Study of Healthcare Professionals' Perspectives in Haemodialysis Needling to Enhance Patients' Overall Experience

Overview

Haemodialysis is essential for patients with End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD), requiring consistent vascular access through arteriovenous fistulas or grafts. This involves frequent needling, a procedure that is painful and distressing for many patients, causing significant emotional and physical demands on healthcare professionals working in the dialysis units. In the UK, about 30,000 patients receive haemodialysis, involving over 300 needling procedures annually. Healthcare professionals (Registered nurses and healthcare assistants) play a crucial role, with their expertise directly affecting patient outcomes. However, 60% of HCPs (healthcare professionals) report high job-related stress, particularly due to needling demands. Effective needling requires not only technical proficiency but also managing patient pain and anxiety. Strong staff-patient relationships, characterized by empathy and understanding, can enhance the needling experience. Challenges for dialysis unit staff includes the technical difficulty of needling and the emotional burden of patient care. Studies highlight the need for better training and support systems to help them cope with these demands. Understanding healthcare professionals' perspectives can identify areas for improvement, inform training programs, and improve experiences in dialysis units. Research by Rahmah et al. (2018) and Duncanson (2023) emphasizes the importance of HCPs skills and the psychological toll on them, suggesting further exploration of this area is needed. The primary aim of this research is to examine HCPs perspectives on the needling experience in haemodialysis, aiming to identify improvement areas and inform targeted training programs to enhance patient experiences. The study will utilize a qualitative exploratory design with semi-structured interviews to gather in-depth insights from HCPs. Data will be collected from renal dialysis units at East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, involving 12 to 16 registered nurses performing needling procedures. Thematic analysis will be used to analyse interview transcripts and identify key themes related to technical skills, communication barriers, and patient-related factors. The study will run for 10 months.

Primary outcome measures

  • Healthcare professionals' (registered nurses and healthcare assistants) perspectives on the needling experience, with a focus on identifying areas for improvement and informing targeted training programs to enhance the overall patient experience. [Time frame: March 2024]

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion criteria

  • Participants must be registered nurses or Band 3 healthcare assistants who perform needling procedures in a haemodialysis unit.
  • Participants must be employed at the renal dialysis units of East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust (ENHT), including both the main unit and its satellite units.
  • Participants must be willing to participate in the study and share their experiences.
  • Participants must be able to speak English fluently to ensure they can communicate effectively, providing rich and comprehensive information.

Exclusion criteria

•Registered nurses or healthcare assistants who do not perform needling procedures in a haemodialysis unit will not be eligible to participate.

Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.

Healthy volunteers: No

Study design

Observational model
Other

Study locations

United Kingdom · 1 center
  • East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust — Stevenage

Publications

  • Sutton J, Austin Z. Qualitative Research: Data Collection, Analysis, and Management. Can J Hosp Pharm. 2015 May-Jun;68(3):226-31. doi: 10.4212/cjhp.v68i3.1456. No abstract available. PMID 26157184
  • Manoochehri H, Imani E, Atashzadeh-Shoorideh F, Alavi-Majd A. Competence of novice nurses: role of clinical work during studying. J Med Life. 2015;8(Spec Iss 4):32-38. PMID 28316703
  • Hagerty TA, Samuels W, Norcini-Pala A, Gigliotti E. Peplau's Theory of Interpersonal Relations: An Alternate Factor Structure for Patient Experience Data? Nurs Sci Q. 2017 Apr;30(2):160-167. doi: 10.1177/0894318417693286. PMID 28899257
  • Duncanson EL, Chur-Hansen A, Le Leu RK, Macauley L, Burke ALJ, Donnelly FF, Collins KL, McDonald SP, Jesudason S. Dialysis Needle-Related Distress: Patient Perspectives on Identification, Prevention, and Management. Kidney Int Rep. 2023 Sep 14;8(12):2625-2634. doi: 10.1016/j.ekir.2023.09.011. eCollection 2023 Dec. PMID 38106606
  • Rahmah NM, Hariyati TS, Sahar J. Nurses' efforts to maintain competence: a qualitative study. J Public Health Res. 2021 Dec 1;11(2):2736. doi: 10.4081/jphr.2021.2736. PMID 35244357
  • Napalkov P, Felici DM, Chu LK, Jacobs JR, Begelman SM. Incidence of catheter-related complications in patients with central venous or hemodialysis catheters: a health care claims database analysis. BMC Cardiovasc Disord. 2013 Oct 16;13:86. doi: 10.1186/1471-2261-13-86. PMID 24131509
  • Alsbrooks K, Hoerauf K. Prevalence, causes, impacts, and management of needle phobia: An international survey of a general adult population. PLoS One. 2022 Nov 21;17(11):e0276814. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0276814. eCollection 2022. PMID 36409734
  • Hill K, Sharp R, Childs J, Esterman A, Le Leu R, Juneja R, Jesudason S. Cannulation practices at haemodialysis initiation via an arteriovenous fistula or arteriovenous graft. J Vasc Access. 2020 Sep;21(5):573-581. doi: 10.1177/1129729819869093. Epub 2019 Aug 18. PMID 31423945

Identifiers

NCT: NCT06845605 · RD2024-55

Primary sources (government registries)

View this study on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗