Feasibility of the COMFORT (COmplex Symptom Management Intervention FOR adulTs With Advanced Kidney Disease) Intervention for Adults With Advanced Kidney Disease and Their Informal Caregivers

The purpose of this randomized feasibility study is to examine whether the COMFORT intervention is feasible and acceptable for adults with advanced kidney disease and their informal caregivers. People with advanced kidney disease often experience several symptoms, such as fatigue, itching, pain, and sleep-related problems. These symptoms can affect daily life and quality of life and may also place a burden on family members and other informal caregivers. The COMFORT intervention is a nurse-led programme designed to help patients and their informal caregivers recognise and manage symptoms. A total of 56 adults with advanced kidney disease will be randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group will receive usual care. The other group will receive usual care plus the COMFORT intervention over approximately 3 months. The intervention includes systematic assessment of symptoms, a symptom management decision-support tool, shared decision-making, support for self-management, and involvement and support of informal caregivers. It is delivered by trained nephrology nurses through two structured consultations and one follow-up telephone consultation. The study will examine whether patients can be successfully recruited and retained, whether the intervention can be delivered as planned, whether patients, informal caregivers, and nurses find the intervention acceptable, and whether the study procedures and questionnaires are suitable for use in a future larger trial. The study is not designed to determine whether the COMFORT intervention is clinically effective.