If you’re a Health Professional, your referrals can be submitted through the Health Professional Hub.
If you fit the eligibility criteria, please complete the Expression of Interest form below. As the study has already commenced, our friendly team at the Kidney Health 4 Life Hotline will call you within 3 business days after submitting your Expression of Interest form, to discuss your eligibility for the research study and help you progress through quickly.
If you need more urgent support, please call our Helpline on 1800 454 363 and they will be happy to assist you, or alternatively visit our website at kidney.org.au
To participate in the research study, individuals must meet the following criteria:
Inclusion Criteria: Participants will be adults (aged >18) with a diagnosis of chronic kidney disease (CKD), who fall into one of the following groups:
Exclusion Criteria:
The Kidney Health 4 Life Program is a pilot program to help people with kidney disease to better manage their condition and overall health, particularly during difficult transition points such as being newly diagnosed or starting a new treatment such as dialysis.
Kidney Health 4 Life has been developed to help provide information and support that is relevant to people living with chronic kidney disease at different stages.
Past research has shown that interventions aimed at helping people with self-management of their condition can improve wellbeing.
No, the program is completely free of charge, and participation is voluntary.
Our aim as an organization is to help people with kidney disease live their best life. This means being well informed about their condition and how to manage it, and ensuring there is good support and resources for optimizing their quality of life.
We conducted research in 2022, and our community told us that they felt overwhelmed and unsupported when they were first diagnosed with kidney disease. In addition, they were often left without a comprehensive understanding of their disease or knowledge of how to manage their day-to-day life. Our community said that commencing dialysis treatment for kidney disease took an enormous toll on their physical and mental health.
Researchers will determine if the KH4L program is effective in helping people with their self-management skills by comparing the results of the KH4L group and standard support group.
After enrolling and consenting into the research study, participants will complete the first questionnaire. Once this has been submitted, you will then be randomly allocated into either one of two groups:
1. Kidney Health 4 Life Program Group
2. Standard Support Group
Depending on your group allocation, you will receive access to different content.
KH4L Program Group
Participants allocated into the Kidney Health 4 Life Program Group will receive access to the 6-week KH4L program. The program contains weekly online modules covering different topics relevant to your disease stage that aim to assist you with self-management of your condition. You will also be offered telephone health coaching and participation in group activities.
At the end of the six-week program, participants will be required to complete a follow up questionnaire.
Participants will then be required to complete one final questionnaire, 12-weeks after the program has been completed.
During this time, participants will still have access to the program’s resources and will also receive follow up emails to reiterate knowledge learned and what’s available to participants. You will also have access to Kidney Health Australia’s resources and support services.
Standard Support
Participants allocated into the standard support group will have access to all existing Kidney Health Australia resources and support programs, including the Kidney Helpline, resource hub and Kidney Buddy peer support program. Participants in the standard support group will also receive a phone call.
At the end of the six-weeks, participants will be required to complete a follow up questionnaire.
Participants will then be required to complete one final questionnaire, 12-weeks after the program has been completed.
After the study has been completed, participants will be offered access to the KH4L online modules.
Your participation in this research study is self-paced but does involve a specific time commitment over several weeks to ensure you get maximum value and we can assess the potential benefits of you participating.
KH4L Program Group:
Standard Support Group:
You are welcome to use a friend and/or relative's laptop or device to complete the modules and questionnaires, however, you must not receive any assistance in completing the modules/questionnaires.
The questionnaires cover topics such as how much you know about your condition, how confident you are in managing your disease and treatment, and how you have been feeling within yourself.
Once you are randomly assigned to a specific group in the study, it is important to remain in that group to maintain the integrity of the research.
As a reminder, participation in the study is entirely voluntary. If you find that you are unhappy with your assigned group, you have the freedom to withdraw from the study at any time, without the need to provide a specific reason.
By taking part in the standard support group, we are able to measure if the Kidney Health 4 Life program provides more benefits than our current services, which you will be accessing as part of the standard support group. Participants assigned to the standard support group play an important role in helping us to undertake this assessment.
Your data will be stored and managed in our Kidney Health Australia Customer Relationship Management System (CMS) and in line with your privacy and data protection policy.
Your personal details will only be accessible by members of the research team, who need to contact you as part of the study or are involved in maintaining the database. All other data will be accessible by the entire research team. Only de-identified data (data without names or contact details) will be used in the analysis. If you would like access to your own data, please let us know in writing.
Yes. Once we have collected and analysed the data, a summary of our findings will be sent to all participants.
In addition, we will distribute our findings:
The timing of when you will find out which group you are assigned to depends on the completion of certain steps.
First, you will need to submit a consent form and complete your initial questionnaire. Once these requirements have been fulfilled and received by our team, you will be randomly assigned to your program group.
To keep you well-informed about the progression stages and requirements of your participation in the program, our team will regularly communicate with you through the email address you have provided. These updates will help you understand key milestones and ensure you are aware of any important information related to your involvement in the study.
A pilot program refers to the small-scale implementation of a new idea, concept, product or service. It serves as a preliminary trial or test phase to assess the effectiveness of the proposed initiative before it is implemented on a larger scale.