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The following is a summary of “Way home: a scoping review of public health interventions to increase the utilization of home dialysis in chronic kidney disease patients,” published in the April 2025 issue of BMC Nephrology by Yongphiphatwong et al. 

Home dialysis (HoD) offers similar mortality rates to in-center hemodialysis (ICHD) with benefits like improved quality of life and reduced costs, yet its utilization remains low. 

Researchers conducted a prospective study to evaluate public health interventions aimed at increasing the uptake and retention of HoD, including peritoneal dialysis (PD) and home hemodialysis (HHD).  

They searched relevant studies in the Web of Science, Medline, Embase, Scopus, EBSCOhost, and EconLit databases from inception to May 2024. Eligible studies assessed the effectiveness of public health interventions on utilization and retention rates for general HoD, PD, and HHD. 

The results showed that 43 studies were included, with interventions categorized into educational programs, service provision improvements, and payment structure modifications. Educational interventions and service provision improvements, such as assisted PD and nephrologist-performed catheter insertions, significantly increased HoD initiation, utilization, and retention rates. The impact of payment interventions varied across contexts. 

Investigators found that education and service provision enhancements were the most effective interventions for increasing HoD initiation, utilization, and retention rates. However, the findings were based mainly on observational studies, and further experimental studies were needed to validate these interventions. 

Source: bmcnephrol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12882-025-04072-9