Kidney Transplant Recipient Perspectives and Priorities for Goal-Setting Programs: A Workshop Report

Purpose: Kidney transplant recipients have an increased risk of side effects and complications and must adhere to a complex treatment regimen. Goal-setting programs have the potential for improving self-management, behavior change, and outcomes. The aim of the workshop was to identify the priorities of kidney transplant recipients regarding goal-setting domains, and to describe their perspectives on the design and implementation of goal-setting interventions.

Methods: We convened a workshop in Australia with three online breakout groups with 18 adult kidney transplant patients. Participants voted for goal-setting domains (e.g. diet and nutrition) in order of priority, discussed the reasons for their priorities and suggestions for the design and implementation of a goal-setting program. Transcripts from the workshop were analyzed thematically.

Results: The top five goal-setting domains were: treatment management, diet and nutrition, physical fitness, social participation, and mental health. We identified four themes: adapting to post-transplant treatments (burdened by medication and side-effects, overwhelmed by fluid and dietary requirements, suspending work and study to meet health commitments, enduring fear of morbidities and isolation, restricted from engaging in physical activity), strengthening motivation (establishing achievable goals, enabling individualization, using digital tools for tracking progress, measuring success, embedding coaching in the process), ensuring safety (avoiding high-risk environments to prevent infection, involving transplant experts ), contributing to long-term benefits (maximizing graft survival, restoring life participation)

Conclusions: Kidney transplant recipients prioritized the goal-setting domains that addressed treatment, lifestyle, and psychosocial wellbeing, and suggested that goal-setting should involve coaching and monitoring by professionals with expertise in the field of kidney transplantation.