BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Health Psychology
This article is part of the Research TopicEnhancing Psychological Resilience and Therapeutic Adherence in Organ TransplantationView all 6 articles
Development of a Patient-Centered Peer-Mentoring Program for Kidney Transplant Patients: A Qualitative Study
Provisionally accepted
- 1Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria
- 2Mayo Clinic Minnesota, Rochester, United States
- 3Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, United States
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Background: End-stage kidney disease (ESKD) causes physical and mental challenges to affected patients that complicates their ability to manage pre-transplant medical care.. Patient benefit from both education about their treatment options, and social support. Peers can address these needs if provided with suitable instruction and direction. This study identified patient-centered components of a peer-mentoring program for kidney transplant recipients based on the input from recipients and providers. Methods: We conducted semi-structured videoconferences with kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) to assess experiences of the pre-transplant evaluation process, post-transplant recovery, living with a kidney transplant, and preferences of a peer-mentoring program. Transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: A total of 44 KTRs participated. Four themes emerged about integral components of a patient-centered peer-mentoring program: psychosocial challenges and adjustment after transplantation; navigating complex information and the effects of trusted peer experiences; the qualifications, role, and tasks of peer mentors; and barriers and facilitators to engaging in peer support. Participants recommended that peer mentors possess certain characteristics (e.g., communicational/psychological skills) and provide support (e.g., low-threshold sharing of information and experiences). Optimal peer-mentoring programs should adapt to patients' needs, address QOL concerns and transplant outcomes, and be easily available. Peer-mentors training should cover transplant-related medical information, the role of a peer mentor, communication training, and information about patient advocacy tasks. Conclusions: This study provides findings from qualitative interviews for developing and implementing a kidney peer-mentoring program. Future research should adapt currently existing peer-mentoring programs to accommodate these patient-centered qualities and evaluate accordingly.
Keywords: end-stage kidney disease, Dialysis, Patient Advocacy, Psychosocial outcomes, Quality of Life, peer-mentoring, social support, health care navigation
Received: 25 Sep 2025; Accepted: 12 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Kumnig, Jowsey-Gregoire, Gruber, Kofler and Gordon. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Martin Kumnig, martin.kumnig@i-med.ac.at
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