Participant experiences in a kidney failure care intervention in the Navigate-Kidney study

IMPORTANCE: Latino individuals with dialysis-dependent kidney failure experience social challenges that render self-management of kidney disease difficult. In the Navigate-Kidney trial, a community health worker (CHW) intervention for Latinos receiving dialysis, intervention recipients experienced a decrease in interdialytic weight gain, a surrogate end point for patient self-management. Understanding how the Navigate-Kidney trial was experienced by participants is important when considering scalability and sustainment of the intervention. 

OBJECTIVE: To examine participant perspectives on their experience in the Navigate-Kidney intervention. 

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This qualitative study used semistructured interviews with participants receiving the Navigate-Kidney intervention. Participants received care at dialysis centers in Denver, Colorado, between November 2020 and August 2022 and were randomized to receive the Navigate-Kidney intervention. Interview transcripts were deidentified and analyzed using deductive thematic analysis. Data were examined from September 2024 to July 2025. 

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The main outcomes were the themes and subthemes from the interviews. 

RESULTS: Twenty-four Latino individuals (11 females [46%]; 13 males [54%]; mean [SD] age of 56 [11] years) participated. The identified themes and subthemes were (1) build trust through understanding health experience (cultivating a personalized connection, promoting optimism and resilience, demonstrating consistency and reliability); (2) address multilevel social and structural challenges to facilitate health system navigation (addressing health insurance barriers, improving food security, relieving the stress of administrative and financial tasks, bridging registered dietitian guidance, enabling attendance of and adherence to dialysis sessions and appointments, coordinating nonnephrology clinical care); (3) provide patient-centered education (improving language concordant communication, promoting health and numeracy literacy, providing culturally responsive dietary restriction); and (4) enhance self-management (exploring opportunities for transplant and peritoneal dialysis, facilitating quality of dialysis care and symptom management, encouraging medication adherence, increasing confidence in diet and fluid intake self-management, achieving clinical parameter targets, activating patients). 

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this qualitative study of participants in the Navigate-Kidney trial, participants' experience with CHWs built trusting relationships through empathy and consistent support, helped them navigate complex health and social systems, provided culturally and linguistically tailored education, and empowered them to manage their care. Understanding participant perspectives about those activities that promoted health and well-being is critical for future patient-centered adaptations of Navigate-Kidney and similar interventions.