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Online Nursing Research LINCs Caregivers Together
By Susan Middaugh
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Laura Taylor, PhD, RN |
After working many years in transplant nursing, Assistant Professor Laura Taylor, PhD, RN discovered that online resources for caregivers of living kidney donors were nonexistent. That's changing, thanks to Taylor's new online intervention study, the first of its kind to be conducted at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing.
With mentorship from professor Marie T. Nolan, PhD, RN and a Dorothy E. Lyne grant from the school's Center for Nursing Research, Taylor's goal is to give caregivers the information and emotional support they need and help transplant teams prepare families before and after the procedure.
Taylor has created a web-based discussion board where caregivers, using pseudonyms to protect their identity, can exchange practical tips on ways to make the donor, usually a spouse or relative, more comfortable. "Every living kidney donor is so generous. We want them and their families to feel confident in their decision making," Taylor said. The study also offers an opportunity for clinical research between the School and the Hospital.
The Living Donor Information Network for Caregivers (LINC) went live at the end of May 2007 with technical assistance from Frank Hoey and Fred San Mateo of the IT Department. Clinical instructor Krysia Hudson, MS, RN and alumna Megan Hoffmann, BSN also collaborated on the LINC project. Since the network launch, participants have shared tips to alleviate fatigue, minimize pain and scarring, ideas about food, diet, and travel.
Members of the transplant team at Johns Hopkins Hospital, including Transplant Coordinator Pamela Walker and Director of Clinical Transplant Research Dorry Segev, MD recruited 16 caregivers to the closed study. Participants are asked to complete three surveys. Taylor is proud that the response rate has been 100 percent. With additional funding, she hopes to expand the study.
