The phenomenon of urinary tract infection experienced by women with a kidney transplant

Background

Urinary tract infection is the most common infection among people with a kidney transplant and increases the risk of graft rejection. Women have a higher risk. A literature search did not identify any description of the phenomenon of urinary tract infection experienced by women with a kidney transplant.

Objective

To examine how women with a kidney transplant experienced the phenomenon of a urinary tract infection.

Design

A qualitative study with a phenomenological approach.

Approach

Eight individual semistructured interviews based on van Manen's four lifeworld existentials and analysed using systematic text condensation.

Participants

Women with a kidney transplant and recently been admitted to the hospital due to a urinary tract infection.

Findings

We identified four themes: (1) Feeling both typical and atypical symptoms; (2) Becoming aware of the body and trying her best to prevent urinary tract infection; (3) Having a urinary tract infection is a dual experience, both good and bad; (4) Support from relatives.

Conclusion

The urinary tract infection symptoms pathway varied between participants but also between individual episodes of incidents among each participant. Participants felt secure when they experienced a common symptom pattern, but a new symptom pattern made them insecure. Together with their relatives, they experienced a urinary tract infection as a disruption of their everyday life and it decreased their experiences of happiness. They experienced to be supported by relatives but also by healthcare professionals, but needed more information on how to prevent, observe and react to a urinary tract infection in the future.