Optimising self-management in people living with chronic kidney disease (CKD:) The Kidney Health 4 Life program

Self-management will be measured using the validated Australian CKD Self-Management Instrument (Aus.CKD-SM).

This randomized controlled trial (RCT) aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the Kidney Health for Life (KH4L) program in improving self-management for people living with chronic kidney disease (CKD), at two key stages: the time of diagnosis and after starting dialysis. Participants will be stratified into two groups, people who have been diagnosed with stage 1-4 CKD and people who have started dialysis in the past year. Participants of both groups will then be randomised to receive the intervention (KH4L program) or standard support (control). Participants will be assessed at three time points, at baseline, week 6 and week 18 post randomisation. We hypothesise that (1) participants in intervention groups will show greater self-management behaviours, disease-related knowledge, self-efficacy, and psychological well-being than participants in the control groups and over time, and (2) disease related knowledge, self-efficacy, psychological well-being and selected sociodemographic variables will be predictors of self-management behaviours. We will also ask participants of the intervention groups to provide some general feedback on the intervention. While this will not be a specific outcome of the study, it will be useful to consider their feedback on how they found the intervention so as to provide guidance for future adjustments to the program, post study. Throughout the course of the study, we will monitor adherence to the intervention by monitoring usage of the KH4L online health hub and record attendance at group sessions. The research team will oversee module completion and activate reminders to those who are lagging on module completion.