Co-designing pre-transplant medication education for non-metropolitan populations: a workshop report

Kidney transplantation requires a long-term commitment from recipients to manage transplant medications and achieve optimal outcomes, yet education provided pre-transplantation varies widely and can be subjectively inadequate, particularly for regional, rural, and remote populations. Targeted education delivered pre-transplantation can improve patients’ knowledge and understanding of transplant medications. This workshop report summarises patient and health professional insights into the co-design of a pre-transplant medication education program tailored for regional, rural, and remote consumers. Australian kidney transplant health professionals and patients attended an online workshop to contribute collaborative insights and perspectives around the effective delivery of medication education in the pre-transplant period. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and qualitative data by descriptive thematic analysis. Workshop attendees most frequently rated exploring and managing transplant medications, optimising medication adherence, and potential adverse effects as important medication-related topics to include in pre-transplant education. Key themes identified around effective delivery of pre-transplant medication education for regional, rural, and remote consumers included tailoring education to individuals’ needs, optimising consumer involvement, harnessing collaborative learning opportunities, cultivating preparedness for transplantation, and maximising the impact of education. Health professionals and patients identified a range of recommendations to support effective pre-transplant medication education for regional, rural, and remote consumers, emphasising the need for tailoring content and delivery to individuals’ circumstances and learning needs, involving family and caregivers, and incorporating lived experiences of kidney transplant recipients. Further research on the implementation and evaluation of these recommendations is warranted.