African American patient knowledge of kidney disease: A qualitative study of those with advanced chronic kidney disease

Abstract

Kidney disease is a costly and prevalent condition that affects African Americans more than any other group. The purpose of this study was to determine the knowledge of kidney disease African American patients have about their disease. Four qualitative focus groups were conducted with kidney disease patients in which the patients gave thoughts and opinions on kidney disease and various components and factors of the condition. The data were independently reviewed and analyzed using Qualrus coding software. Dominant themes discussed in the focus groups included: causes of kidney disease, patient thoughts on dialysis as a treatment for kidney disease, information source for disease knowledge, thoughts on God and faith, reaction to kidney disease, and types of treatment available. The study found that the majority of patients were unaware of specific causes and risk factors of kidney disease, were unsure of available treatments, and had a severe lack of knowledge and support system in dealing with the condition. Early prevention and education programs aimed at high-risk populations would be very beneficial in decreasing the incidence and increase of kidney disease.

Current State and Future Trends to Optimize the Care of African Americans with End-Stage Renal Disease

“…For in-center hemodialysis, the chronic dependence on nurses, social workers, nutritionists, technicians, vascular surgeons, and nephrologists for 3–4 h, 3 times a week, or more frequent dialysis sessions for this life-saving procedure limits quality of life, particularly for an aging population. Unlike their CA counterparts, AAs are deeply concerned about disparities in terms of lack of education, awareness of their risks of comorbidities, and fear of healthcare systems [22–24]. Thus, achieving a reasonable quality of life is a challenge.…”

Effect of the iChoose Kidney decision aid in improving knowledge about treatment options among transplant candidates: A randomized controlled trial

“…1,4 While ESRD patients actively seek involvement in providers’ decisions about their treatment options, 5 they are often uninformed about kidney transplantation and have limited knowledge about the absolute and relative mortality of kidney transplantation versus dialysis. 6–11 …”

“…1,4 While ESRD patients actively seek involvement in providers' decisions about their treatment options, 5 they are often uninformed about kidney transplantation and have limited knowledge about the absolute and relative mortality of kidney transplantation versus dialysis. [6][7][8][9][10][11] Education about kidney transplantation should ideally occur in stage 4 chronic kidney disease (CKD) and continue throughout each step of the transplant process to give patients more opportunities to process treatment information and actively discuss treatment options with providers. However, in-depth conversations between providers and patients may be inadequate due to provider time constraints, limited educational resources with individualized risk information, and difficulties clearly informing patients about treatment options.…”

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Type 2 Diabetic Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease: A literature review

“…Similarly, poor awareness and knowledge was found in a qualitative study in United Sates of America (USA) by Kazley, et al (24) which aimed to look at the African-American patients' level of knowledge of their CKD in 2008 at a single medical renal center whereby 20 CKD patients were selected by non-random sampling and assigned to 4 focus groups to answer 5 open-ended questions regarding CKD. After analyzing the data, the authors found that majority of the patients (percentage not specified) had poor knowledge and awareness regarding CKD risk factors, prevention and management.…”