The effects of a brief hope intervention on decision-making in chronic kidney disease patients: A study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Aims This study describes the study protocol of a manualized brief hope intervention that is based on the theoretical proposition - hope theory. Background Patients with stage 5 chronic kidney disease often had decisional regret when facing the tension of treatment alternatives between dialysis initiation and palliative care. Hope has been found to account for therapeutic changes in clients with depressive symptoms, heightens positive expectations, and striving to accomplish chosen goals. Nevertheless, little is known about the effect of hope on decisional conflict and its influences to the quality of life in these chronic kidney disease patients. Design This study is a single-blinded, randomized controlled trial. Methods Participants will be recruited from a regional hospital (approved in April 2018). They will be randomly assigned in equal numbers to either the brief hope intervention or the control arm on completion of the baseline assessment on the possible need of dialysis initiation. Participants in the intervention group will receive the pre-dialysis education and a 4-week Brief Hope Intervention [consisting of four sessions at weekly intervals (two face-to-face sessions and two telephone follow-up sessions in between)], while those allocated to the control arm will receive the renal education and social chats. Outcome measures will be carried out prior to the intervention (baseline), immediately, and 1 month after the intervention. These consist of the hope level, decisional conflict, and quality of life. Healthcare resources use data will be reported. Impact The study results have the potential to add scientific evidence to the research-tested programme when developing renal services integral to multimodal care management to optimize decision-making and attain better health outcomes.