Kidney health for all: bridging the gap in kidney health education and literacy

Abstract

The high burden of kidney disease, global disparities in kidney care, and the poor outcomes of kidney failure place a growing burden on affected individuals and their families, caregivers, and the community at large. Health literacy is the degree to which individuals and organizations have, or equitably enable individuals to have, the ability to find, understand, and use information and services to make informed health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others. Rather than viewing health literacy as a patient deficit, improving health literacy lies primarily with health care providers communicating and educating effectively in codesigned partnership with those with kidney disease. For kidney policy makers, health literacy is a prerequisite for organizations to transition to a culture that places the person at the center of health care. The growing capability of and access to technology provides new opportunities to enhance education and awareness of kidney disease for all stakeholders. Advances in telecommunication, including social media platforms, can be leveraged to enhance persons’ and providers’ education. The World Kidney Day declares 2022 as the year of “Kidney Health for All” to promote global teamwork in advancing strategies in bridging the gap in kidney health education and literacy. Kidney organizations should work toward shifting the patient-deficit health literacy narrative to that of being the responsibility of health care providers and health policy makers. By engaging in and supporting kidney health-centered policy making, community health planning, and health literacy approaches for all, the kidney communities strive to prevent kidney diseases and enable living well with kidney disease.

Practicing health equity in involuntary discharges to overcome disparities in dialysis and kidney patient care

“…For instance, the National Forum of the ESRD Networks, including its Medical Advisory Council consisting of representatives of the Medical Review Boards of all 18 Networks, and its Kidney Patients Advisory Council, in collaboration with the ESRD NCC, AHRQ, and 14 other stakeholders, should create patient–provider collaboration and practicing health equity toolkits. Both de novo created and amended preexisting toolkits of these organizations should meet the contemporary needs and emerging challenges of the dialysis programs including those related to greater use of telehealth [37] and social media [38]. Programs should be designed to educate all members of a dialysis facility's staff, with the goal of bridging the knowledge gap and improving effective communications.…”

Global Kidney Nutrition Care and Health Literacy: Overcoming the Disparities in Renal Nutrition Service Capacity and Education

“…3,4 Given the enormous burden of kidney disease, combined with global disparities in kidney care and poor outcomes of kidney failure, the World Kidney Day joint steering committee has declared 2022 as the year of health literacy and education in kidney care with the motto ''Kidney Health for All-Bridging the Gap in Kidney Health Education and Literacy.'' 5 Improving health literacy in kidney care enables better access to and utilization of kidney health services with worldwide accessibility of nutrition care for kidney disease as an important goal, given that optimal nutrition has a profound impact on kidney health and survival. 6 A recent joint publication by the International Society of Renal Nutrition and Metabolism (ISRNM) and the International Society of Nephrology (ISN) has highlighted the role of nutrition intervention in kidney disease management worldwide to better understand the current global availability and capacity of kidney nutrition care services, interdisciplinary communication, and availability of oral nutrition supplements.…”