The solution
To fill this gap in knowledge, Emma aims to better understand the impact of AEs on kidney transplant patients, families and surgeons, so that effective communication and targeted mental health support can be provided. The study will be conducted in three parts with patients and surgeons recruited from the West of Scotland Renal Transplant Unit.
Firstly, to explore any negative feelings one year after transplant surgery, questionnaires will be completed by patients and their surgeons. One questionnaire will assess quality of life, and the other will look at regret. Asking the surgeons to complete the decision regret questionnaire will highlight any differences in opinion between patient and surgeon for further investigation.
In the second part of the study, Emma will conduct hour long, one-to-one interviews with patients who have experienced an AE, and their relatives, the results of which will later be used to make recommendations for support interventions.
Lastly, interviews will be conducted with surgeons whose patients have suffered from AEs. Here, the impact of these difficult situations on transplant surgeons will be investigated further by assessing their attitude to future decision-making.