Development and Effects of a Structural Education Program in Adult Kidney Transplant Recipients

Kidney transplantation is the treatment of choice for patients with end-stage renal disease. The purpose of this randomized and controlled study is to evaluate the efficacy of a structured education program for adult kidney transplant recipients. Patients are randomly assigned to an educational program or to a standard care control group. The education group receives 8 lessons (each 90 minutes, 1 lesson per day), starting 4 days after kidney transplantation. Kidney transplant survival, number of rejections, infectious complications, length of hospital stay, blood pressure, HbA1c, glomerular filtration rate, quality of life (QoL) and knowledge are measured in both groups after 6, 12 and 24 months. The investigators postulate that the education group will have superior outcomes compared to the control group.