Kidney Disease- Awareness issue
I have participated in various forms of walks and runs for diseases such as cancer or leukemia, but I do not recall hearing anything about Kidney disease. In fact, even during health events, I do not see their booths, no volunteers distributing pamphlets, no TV campaigns, and people do not talk often about kidneys. What is startling is the fact that 1 in 3 American adults are at risk for developing kidney disease and the prevalence of this disease has only been increasing.
In spite of high prevalence, one wonders why people are not as aware of kidney disease in comparison to other diseases. Is it the brand, is the funds for research, the providers, lobbying efforts or the disease itself? Having no symptoms probably play a huge role, but how about lifestyle? There is a clear link between heart-diseases, diabetes and risk of kidney disease. Then why is it that these patients do not know about risks of CKD? As part of the project, we will be conducting interviews with patients to understand what part of the patient journey has a biggest gap and where NKF should focus. Branding the foundation better involves understanding what is it that patients want? Also, how do nephrologists look at this? Their families? We hope to get insights that will help us reform the story for both NKF as well as kidney related diseases and prevention.
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