Supporting the Establishment of New Home Dialysis Programs Through the Explore Home Dialysis Program

Abstract

Introduction: The globally increasing prevalence of chronic kidney disease has resulted in an ever-growing demand for renal replacement therapy. Although programs are present around the world, there is a paucity of immersive educational programs that train clinicians and administrators to develop new home dialysis programs. Explore Home Dialysis (EHD) is a program created to fill this gap. Methods: We present the results of the evaluation of the EHD program. Our team interviewed 23 clinicians and administrators who participated in the EHD program. We also assessed country-specific needs and challenges associated with home dialysis. Results: The 4 main findings include (i) the evaluation of the effectiveness of the EHD program; (ii) the need for an educational program to train individuals on how to deploy home dialysis programs; (iii) evidence that such an educational program is beneficial to participants and for the establishment of new home dialysis programs; and (iv) the identification of barriers to the development of home dialysis programs in countries represented in this study. The data show an increased demand, with strong patient and provider interest in establishing new programs, interest in accessing resources to train clinical and administrative staff in how to run a home dialysis program, and positive feedback about the EHD program in general. Conclusions: The data from this study were used in the next iteration of the EHD program, to inform clinicians about challenges in the deployment of new home dialysis programs, and to present educational resources that need to be developed in the future. Keywords: chronic kidney disease, clinicians, home dialysis, program evaluation