Background: The Camp COOL programme aims to help young Dutch people with end-stage renal disease (ESRD)\r\ndevelop self-management skills. Fellow patients already treated in adult care (hereafter referred to as ââ?¬Ë?buddiesââ?¬â?¢)\r\norganise the day-to-day program, run the camp, counsel the attendees, and also participate in the activities. The\r\nattendees are young people who still have to transfer to adult care. This study aimed to explore the effects of this\r\nspecific form of peer-to-peer support on the self-management of young people (16ââ?¬â??25 years) with ESRD who\r\nparticipated in Camp COOL (CC) (hereafter referred to as ââ?¬Ë?participantsââ?¬â?¢).\r\nMethods: A mixed methods research design was employed. Semi-structured interviews (n = 19) with initiators/staff,\r\nparticipants, and healthcare professionals were conducted. These were combined with retrospective and pre-post\r\nsurveys among participants (n = 62), and observations during two camp weeks.\r\nResults: Self-reported effects of participants were: increased self-confidence, more disease-related knowledge, feeling\r\ncapable of being more responsible and open towards others, and daring to stand up for yourself. According to\r\nparticipants, being a buddy or having one positively affected them. Self-efficacy of attendees and independence\r\nof buddies increased, while attendeesââ?¬â?¢ sense of social inclusion decreased (measured as domains of health-related\r\nquality of life). The buddy role was a pro-active combination of being supervisor, advisor, and leader.\r\nConclusions: Camp COOL allowed young people to support each other in adjusting to everyday life with ESRD.\r\nParticipating in the camp positively influenced self-management in this group. Peer-to-peer support through buddies\r\nwas much appreciated. Support from young adults was not only beneficial for adolescent attendees, but also for young\r\nadult buddies. Paediatric nephrologists are encouraged to refer patients to CC and to facilitate such initiatives. Together\r\nwith nephrologists in adult care, they could take on a role in selecting buddies.
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