| CKD as a new construct | 'I don't use the word chronic kidney disease because that’s a new term, only been in existence in the past 10 years or so, before there was no chronic kidney disease. So I tell them, look your kidneys are not working as well as they should, that’s how I tell them, we need to protect them because if there’s damage to the kidneys, you can't go back on it, so we need to protect your kidneys and then I tell them what things will damage the kidneys.' (GP08) |
| Patient misunderstanding of terminology | 'I kind of think their take on that will be, oh I've got this awful terrible thing that is going to kill me, which it just sounds so bad.' (GP25) |
| 'I think chronic often means, for a lot of people it means severe and drastic and so it’s a very negative connotation and I think that generally I don't find it very helpful to say that.' (GP50) | |
| 'It upsets patients and puts them into feeling anxious that there’s something wrong with them, so it directly impacts on their mental health. Disease is not a word I use when I'm talking to them about a diagnosis.' (GP51) | |
| Balance of lay and medical terminology to ensure understanding | 'I suppose you'd probably soften the blow and when you first start talking to them, you'll say, oh look your kidneys aren't great, they're not performing as well.' (GP18) |
| 'I'd say, oh look the medical term is CKD which means chronic kidney disease and I tell them, it’s just a word that we — it’s what it’s called but the way I like to think of it is, is that your kidneys aren't working as well.' (GP36) | |
| Ensure patient understanding of the context of kidney disease | 'Sometimes again it’s a case of we might be diagnosing diabetes at the next appointment, … and talking about kidneys as part of that.' (GP36) |
| Rationale for always using the label 'CKD' | 'But I always explain to them, you've got chronic kidney disease, chronic means that it’s a longstanding disease, it’s been there for more than three months and it’s not going to go away.' (GP75) |
| 'I think chronic kidney disease sounds — will be my choice, it sounds better than what people use of renal failure or kidney failure. That word failure actually freak[s] out a lot patients, it’s just like the kidneys not working, you know? So chronic kidney disease give[s] them an impression that it’s something still treatable, manageable, there is a hope to change that because they've got a disease.' (GP44) |
CKD = chronic kidney disease