Coping strategies in candidates of kidney biopsy: A qualitative content analysis study

Abstract

Background: Kidney biopsy is the gold standard in the diagnosis and management of many kidney diseases. Due to the physical and mental burden of disease diagnosis on a person's life and the impact of adaptation strategies on the physical and mental well-being of people, it is important to evaluate adaptation strategies in these patients. This qualitative study aimed to investigate the coping strategies of candidates for kidney biopsy in Iran.

Materials and methods: A qualitative study was conducted to investigate the experiences of kidney biopsy candidates as to their kidney disease and methods of dealing with anxiety. Twenty-two semistructured interviews were conducted with men and women in the internal kidney department in Namazi Hospital in Shiraz. The participants were selected using a purposive sampling technique. All interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim in Persian and analyzed using content analysis. MAXQDA software version 10 was used to facilitate data analysis.

Results: The codes were classified into 3 categories and 21 subcategories. The categories included coping methods, coping methods with a focus on emotional release, and less effective or ineffective coping methods.

Conclusion: Results showed that biopsy was a more traumatic experience for patients and the use of coping strategies during the kidney biopsy was beneficial for them; therefore, it is very important to create and implement appropriate interventions for kidney biopsy candidates patients. Because patients with good mental health use more problem-oriented coping methods, the authors suggest teaching efficient coping methods to ensure the mental health of patients waiting for kidney biopsy.

Keywords: Biopsy; coping strategy; kidney; qualitative research.