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Research Article: Nephrologists’ perspectives on the impact of COVID-19 on caring for patients undergoing dialysis in Latin America: a qualitative study

Date Published: 2023-05-12

Abstract:
Objective To describe the experiences of nephrologists on caring for patients undergoing in-centre haemodialysis during the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America. Design Twenty-five semistructured interviews were conducted by Zoom videoconference in English and Spanish languages during 2020 until data saturation. Using thematic analysis, we conducted line-by-line coding to inductively identify themes. Setting 25 centres across nine countries in Latin America. Participants Nephrologists (17 male and 8 female) were purposively sampled to include diverse demographic characteristics and clinical experience. Results We identified five themes: shock and immediate mobilisation for preparedness (overwhelmed and distressed, expanding responsibilities to manage COVID-19 infection and united for workforce resilience); personal vulnerability (being infected with COVID-19 and fear of transmitting COVID-19 to family); infrastructural susceptibility of dialysis units (lacking resources and facilities for quarantine, struggling to prevent cross-contamination, and depletion of personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies); helplessness and moral distress (being forced to ration life-sustaining equipment and care, being concerned about delayed and shortened dialysis sessions, patient hesitancy to attend to dialysis sessions, being grieved by socioeconomic disparities, deterioration of patients with COVID-19, harms of isolation and inability to provide kidney replacement therapy); and fostering innovative delivery of care (expanding use of telehealth, increasing uptake of PD and shifting focus on preventing syndemics). Conclusion Nephrologists felt personally and professionally vulnerable and reported feeling helpless and morally distressed because they doubted their capacity to provide safe care for patients undergoing dialysis. Better availability and mobilisation of resources and capacities to adapt models of care, including telehealth and home-based dialysis, are urgently needed.

Introduction:
The SARS-CoV-2-related disease (COVID-19) pandemic has disrupted, delayed and impeded access to treatment among individuals with chronic illness, including patients with kidney failure undergoing maintenance dialysis. 1 For patients undergoing long-term dialysis, their risk of acquiring COVID-19 is estimated to be five times higher, and they are four times more likely to die than the general population. 2 The pandemic has seen major reconfiguration of care in many health institutions to manage the increased demand…

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