Kidney supportive care (KSC) is palliative care for people with advanced kidney disease. It provides relief of suffering and improves quality of life through early identification, assessment, and management of the symptom burden associated with kidney disease. KSC encompasses advance care planning (ACP)—a key element—in which patients’ goals, values, and preferences for present and future care are elicited to ensure concordant care. Nephrology nurses have a vital role in the delivery of KSC, particularly to people receiving dialysis, but they do not routinely engage in conversations with patients about their goals regarding critical matters such as end-of-life concerns. The purpose of my constructivist grounded theory method (GTM) study was to construct a substantive theory about the process of engagement in KSC by nurses in Canadian dialysis settings.
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