Study summary: Peer mentorship has been used effectively to enhance self-motivation and self-management behaviors in patients with chronic disease. Peer mentorship improves patient adherence and quality of life scores in a recent study of patients on dialysis. It’s also effective in reducing anxiety, increasing perception of social support and self-motivation through modeling and empathic listening, and is well suited to a dialysis population with a fixed schedule. This study aims to test the effects of peer mentorship on the rate of hospitalizations in patients on hemodialysis.

Principal investigators: Ladan Golestaneh, MD, and Michal L. Melamed, MD

Major criteria to enter the study: Both mentors and mentees are adult patients on hemodialysis. Mentors should 1) have had no hospitalization in the past six months, 2) adhere to dialysis treatment, 3) have arteriovenous access and 4) have been on dialysis for more than one year. Mentees should 1) have had one or more hospitalization or emergency department visits in the previous month, 2) missed treatment or had two shortened dialysis treatments in the last month or 3) have a dialysis catheter.