Use of Focus Groups to Identify Concerns about Dialysis

Background . Patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) may have quality-of-life (QOL) concerns that are not fully appreciated by their providers. The authors con ducted focus groups with dialysis patients and dialysis professionals to determine whether this qualitative method would reveal differences between patients' and provid ers' views about: 1) domains of QOL that are affected by ESRD and dialysis; and 2) aspects of dialysis that affect QOL. Methods . Separate focus group discussions were held with: 8 adult hemodialysis patients (mean age 50 years; 3 women; mean duration of dialysis 8.5 years), 5 adult peritoneal dialysis patients (mean age 54 years; 3 women; mean duration of dialysis 4.6 years), 8 nephrologists (mean of 12 years of dialysis practice), and 9 other health professionals involved in dialysis care (3 nurses, 2 dieti tians, 2 social workers, and 2 technicians; mean of 10 years experience in dialysis care). Discussions were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim, and reviewed independently by three investigators to identify and categorize distinct thoughts. Results . 1,271 dis tinct thoughts were identified and grouped into 20 related categories, which included ten QOL domains and ten aspects of dialysis that affect QOL. Compared with the professionals, the patients identified one additional relevant QOL domain (10 vs 9), and one additional aspect of dialysis that affects QOL (10 vs 9), and expressed more thoughts per domain (p