National Kidney Foundation Unveils "Kidney Pathways," a Curated Kidney Health Education Curriculum

Individualized information is tailored to kidney disease risk

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Jun 14, 2019, 08:00 ET

NEW YORK, June 14, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) has launched Kidney Pathways, an interactive education platform that uses an online kidney health assessment tool to provide a curated learning pathway for people at any stage of chronic kidney disease (CKD).

The new online system delivers a curriculum-based format offering "need-to-know" essentials that align with CKD risk factors and laboratory findings reported in the online health assessment. Kidney disease progresses through stages and is associated with several risk factors such as diabetes and hypertension – otherwise known as high blood pressure. CKD can contribute to the development of serious complications before advancing into life-threatening kidney failure, which requires dialysis or a transplant to survive.

It can be overwhelming and challenging for a person with the diagnosis to find the most useful information about a specific stage of CKD from the massive amount of information available online. NKF's Kidney Pathways will help simplify the steep learning curve that people with CKD must navigate by providing curated, relevant, and actionable content specific to their needs. Knowing about CKD is one of the best strategies people have to slow the progression of the disease, research indicates.

"Kidney Pathways leverages best practices in adult learning design," said Kevin Longino, CEO, National Kidney Foundation. "People living with CKD are hungry to understand what they must do next to protect their kidney health. Kidney Pathways provides that information in a clearly written, easily digestible format."

Nearly 90 percent of the 30 million Americans with chronic kidney disease do not know they have it. CKDintercept™, the NKF primary care initiative, is striving to change this through several innovative programs to improve CKD diagnosis in primary care. Kidney Pathways is an important component of the CKDintercept strategy as it provides people with CKD the tools and resources necessary to make informed decisions to protect their kidney health.

"Having a comprehensive, evidence-based, freely available resource that guides a patient through the essential information they must have is a benefit to everyone," said Joseph Vassalotti, MD, NKF's Chief Medical Officer. "Accompanying people living with kidney disease on their learning journey will support interactions with their clinicians and the health system."

Kidney Pathways content is extracted from the vast library of critical and expert information produced by NKF. Information entered in the online kidney health assessment determines what content and resources will be provided for each learner. This information is structured into an easy-to-read, curriculum format that provides essential information regarding CKD and its management. Within the curriculum you will find embedded videos, tools and links to more information that can be explored for each topic and questions to ask your clinician. The online kidney health assessment requires only a few minutes to finish.

The new education system currently provides information for people living with CKD, who are not treated with dialysis or kidney transplantation.

One of the modules of Kidney Pathways released today is about a type of arthritis called gout. NKF is making it easy for people to understand how to take control of gout with the launch of the module called "Gout and Your Health." The user is asked four questions, which will then lead them to individualized information relevant to how they answered.

Gout can be hard to diagnose because symptoms are so similar to other conditions. The signs of gout are severe pain in a joint with one of these other signs: swelling; tenderness; stiffness; redness. People with gout are at higher risk for kidney stones. There is a bidirectional relationship between CKD and gout. People with gout are at increased risk of CKD, and people who have CKD are at increased risk for gout and often are unaware of this risk. If left untreated, gout can lead to serious health issues.

For more information about Kidney Pathways please go to www.kidney.org/kidney-pathways.

Kidney Disease Facts
In the United States 30 million adults are estimated to have chronic kidney disease—and most aren't aware of it. 1 in 3 American adults are at risk for chronic kidney disease. Risk factors for kidney disease include diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and family history. People of African American, Hispanic, Native American, Asian or Pacific Islander descent are at increased risk for developing the disease. African Americans are 3 times more likely than Whites, and Hispanics are nearly 1.5 times more likely than non-Hispanics to develop end stage renal disease (kidney failure).

The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) is the largest, most comprehensive, and longstanding patient-centric organization dedicated to the awareness, prevention, and treatment of kidney disease in the U.S. For more information about NKF, visit www.kidney.org.

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SOURCE National Kidney Foundation