Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40596873›Full record

ArticleBMC nephrology2025

A qualitative exploration of cAregiver experienCes Of conseRvatively maNaged kidney failure: the ACORN study.

Claire Carswell, T Forbes, A Wilson, G Laurente, M Yaqoob, P Gilbert, S Bolton, A Burns, C Moran, S O'Neill and 9 more

Abstract readMulticenter Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC nephrology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

19 authors.

Claire CarswellDepartment of Health Sciences, University of York, York, UK. claire.carswell@york.ac.uk.
T ForbesSchool of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK.
A WilsonSchool of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK.
G LaurenteBarts Health NHS Trust, London, UK.
M YaqoobBarts Health NHS Trust, London, UK.
P GilbertNorthern Ireland Kidney Patient Association, Belfast, UK.
S BoltonNorthern Health and Social Care Trust, Antrim, UK.
A BurnsRoyal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
C MoranWestern Health and Social Care Trust, Londonderry, UK.
S O'NeillBelfast Health and Social Care Trust, Belfast, UK.
J McGarryBelfast Health and Social Care Trust, Belfast, UK.
N O'HareBelfast Health and Social Care Trust, Belfast, UK.
K McGuiganSchool of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK.
C McKeaveneySchool of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK.
C McVeighSchool of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK.
J ReidSchool of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK.
S RejSchool of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK.
I WalshSchool of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK.
H NobleSchool of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK.

Funding

Marie Curie Research Grants MC-19-913
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionPatients with kidney failure who are older, frail and have multiple conditions can choose not to receive dialysis and instead receive conservative management, which focuses on symptom management and maximising quality of life. Many of these patients rely on support from informal caregivers, such as family and friends. However, the experiences of informal caregivers of people who choose conservative management, particularly towards the end of life, are generally unknown.

aimTo explore the experiences of informal caregivers of people receiving CM for kidney failure alongside healthcare professionals who provide treatment and care to people receiving CM to identify and understand the unmet needs of informal caregivers.

methodsInformal caregivers of patients receiving conservative management (n = 38) were recruited from five sites, two in England and three in Northern Ireland. Semi-structured interviews focused on the experiences of the caring role were conducted with informal caregivers and thematically analysed. Focus groups and one semi-structured interview were conducted at two sites (one in Northern Ireland, one in England) with healthcare professionals who had experience caring for people receiving conservative management (n = 15). The focus groups explored their experience of supporting informal caregivers and their perspectives on the needs of informal caregivers. These were thematically analysed, and the analysis from the two data sets (informal caregivers and healthcare professionals) was integrated.

resultsThree themes and nine subthemes were synthesised from the data. These included: Defining the role of 'carer', which captured perspectives on the caring role and motivations for caring; keeping the end in mind, which described attitudes and awareness of disease progression and death; and balancing the burden, which encapsulated the ways informal caregivers managed the burden of caring.

conclusionInformal caregivers had multifaceted experiences and felt well-supported by renal healthcare teams. Cultural factors strongly influence caregivers' experiences of the role, while communication and the provision of information were identified as the key needs of caregivers. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: Not applicable.

Indexed as

CaregiversConservative TreatmentRenal InsufficiencyAdultAgedEnglandFemaleFocus GroupsHumansMaleMiddle AgedNorthern IrelandQualitative ResearchCaregiversConservative managementHealth & well-beingKidney diseaseQualitative

Identifiers

PMID40596873
PMCPMC12211965

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.