Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is an important public health problem which affects more than 26 million people in the U.S. However, racial/ethnic minority groups and low income populations bear a disproportionate burden of CKD particularly with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD).
Researchers in the field hypothesize that public health systems which disproportionately care for diverse populations do not consistently identify or provide recommended care to persons with CKD who are at the highest risk for progressive disease.
Dr. Yoshio Hall, Assistant Professor in Nephrology at the University of Washington is the lead investigator for a project initiated in 2010 and supported by grant (K23DK087900-01) awarded from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) to study CKD in medically underserved populations.
The research to be completed in 2015 will help to discover which patient-centered interventions could be used to improve the delivery of care to diverse populations and decrease the growing burden of CKD and ESRD to society
The research project will include recruiting and maintaining a patient cohort, performing and validating diagnostic tests, developing and maintaining a CKD registry from multiple data sources, provide training in health IT and advanced statistical and epidemiologic methods, and design pilot intervention studies.
The researchers will analyze data from Harborview Medical Center, the largest public hospital system in Northwestern U.S and from the Community Health Network, a large safety net health system in Northern California.
For more information, email ynhall@u.washington.edu or call (206) 277-3202.
