months, 26% have most recently discussed it 1-2 years ago, and 10% have never discussed it
- Patients who are aware of HHD cite the lack of required travel (51%), the ability to complete treatment in their own home (51%), and flexibility in choosing a day/time for dialysis (47%) as advantages
Source: Hanover Research, on behalf of Outset Medical and the National Kidney Foundation
Based on the survey results, NKF and Outset are also working together to ensure more patients get connected to education to better manage their kidney disease earlier and on their options for a kidney transplant and home dialysis to make a difference in reducing disparities. The organizations have developed a treatment-focused educational curriculum for kidney disease patients, that will be piloted in June as part of a core curriculum offered by the successful National Kidney Foundation of Michigan (NKFM) community health outreach program.
Survey Results Emphasize Impact of Socioeconomic Status and Education
Importantly, results indicate that education provided outside the traditional healthcare setting, such as from external organizations like NKF, can play an important role in closing the racial gaps in home dialysis access and utilization. Patients of all backgrounds said that they refer to kidney disease-specific websites and/or health information websites before and after speaking to a medical professional, as well as patient information pamphlets. Overall, respondents indicated that their nephrologist provided education information on treatment options, along with renal dietitians, social workers, nephrology nurses, and other care team members (see the graphic below). Patients in all racial groups surveyed found the information provided by their care team to be useful, comprehensive, and proactively provided, although white respondents were more likely to do their own research following conversations with medical professionals.
Although a lower priority overall, white survey respondents were more likely than black respondents to place value on recommendations from physicians/nurses, suggesting that black respondents rely less on medical professionals. This is reinforced by findings surrounding trust in healthcare; white respondents were more likely than black respondents to fully trust healthcare providers more broadly, including when asked about their own providers. When selecting a dialysis treatment option, effectiveness and quality of life provided were most important to all patients in the study.
Kidney PATH Program to Include Pilot Educational Component Developed by Outset Medical
Outset Medical, as part of its ongoing commitment to working with the kidney care community to reduce disparities in treatment access for all ESKD patients and to increasing confidence in home dialysis, is taking additional steps to directly apply the knowledge gathered from this survey. Outset has provided a grant to NKFM to develop a curriculum that will be offered as part of the latter’s Stanford University-accredited, evidence-based chronic kidney disease self-management program, Kidney PATH (Personal Action Toward Health).
The purpose of the updated Kidney PATH curriculum will be to help empower people with kidney disease to better understand their options for home dialysis and transplant, and feel confident in selecting those as options for treatment. The core Kidney PATH curriculum, that is currently delivered to patients over six sessions, with one 2.5-hour session per week (in a virtual format for now), includes elements of the long-established Stanford PATH program. The new treatment modalities-specific content will be delivered via two additional curriculum pilot sessions, beginning this June.
“What’s exciting is that although this program is being piloted in Michigan, it really applies nationwide.”
-Tonya Saffer, Outset Head of Government Affairs & Market Access
NKFM has a long and successful track record of providing community-based health programs that bring together underserved populations, healthcare providers, and commercial payers. The org