Dr Currie Moore C.R.Moore@salford.ac.uk
University Fellow
Patients' perspectives on key aspects influencing needling for haemodialysis: A qualitative study
Moore, Currie; Ellis‐Caird, Helen; Ellis-Caird, H.; Fielding, Catherine; Awan, Faizan; Paul, Tarsem; Flanagan, Rebecca; Sharma, Shivani; McCafferty, Kieran; N. van der Veer, Sabine; Farrington, Ken; Wellsted, David
Authors
Helen Ellis‐Caird
H. Ellis-Caird
Catherine Fielding
Faizan Awan
Tarsem Paul
Rebecca Flanagan
Shivani Sharma
Kieran McCafferty
Sabine N. van der Veer
Ken Farrington
David Wellsted
Abstract
Background: For many patients, cannulation (‘needling’) is essential for haemodialysis. It is associated with anxiety and fear and contributes to the overall burden of treatment. Limited research exists on patient experience of needling and how this might vary by individual and clinical characteristics.
Objectives: To explore and identify key aspects of needling impacting patients’ experiences.
Design: Qualitative, multi-centre, cross-sectional, co-produced.
Participants: Adults on haemodialysis with working fistulas or grafts (n=41).
Approach: We used interviews to explore patients’ experiences of needling and key aspects contributing to this. Interviews were conducted in two sets: unstructured (n=24, broadly investigated needling experience) and semi-structured (n=17, refined themes and assessed cultural relevance). Thematic analysis was used to identify themes driving experience and examine variation. A Patient Steering Group comprising people with lived experience of needling was integral to the study.
Findings: A thematic framework capturing patients’ view of needling was developed. It defined a core theme (The Nature of needling) and five foundational aspects of needling (Health of the fistula or graft, Steps in needling, The needler, The patient, Organisational context). We identified two further themes important to overall experience, Learning from needling experience and Reciprocity (the two-way interaction between patient and needler). Both inter-related across themes, highlighting the complexity of needling and junctures where patient experience can be influenced.
Conclusions: Needling is shaped by multiple psychological and relational influences. These findings provide healthcare professionals with a basis to improve patient experience as part of a broader drive to enhance quality in healthcare delivery.
| Journal Article Type | Article |
|---|---|
| Acceptance Date | Oct 1, 2024 |
| Online Publication Date | Nov 11, 2024 |
| Publication Date | Nov 11, 2024 |
| Deposit Date | Nov 7, 2024 |
| Publicly Available Date | Nov 12, 2025 |
| Journal | Journal of Renal Care |
| Print ISSN | 1755-6678 |
| Electronic ISSN | 1755-6686 |
| Publisher | Wiley |
| Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1111/jorc.12513 |
| Keywords | haemodialysis, cannulation, chronic kidney disease, vascular access, co‐production |
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Copyright Statement
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.