TY  - JOUR
AU  - Tuot, Delphine
AU  - Crowley, Susan
AU  - Katz, Lois
AU  - Leung, Joseph
AU  - Alcantara-Cadillo, Delly
AU  - Ruser, Christopher
AU  - Talbot-Montgomery, Elizabeth
AU  - Vassalotti, Joseph
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/4/29
TI  - Impact of the Kidney Score Platform on Communication About and Patients’ Engagement With Chronic Kidney Disease Health: Pre–Post Intervention Study
JO  - JMIR Form Res
SP  - e56855
VL  - 9
KW  - chronic kidney disease
KW  - CKD
KW  - CKD communication
KW  - CKD knowledge
KW  - patient activation
KW  - kidney
KW  - kidney score platform
KW  - kidney health
KW  - United States
KW  - US
KW  - adult
KW  - aging
KW  - clinical practice
KW  - awareness campaign
KW  - health information
KW  - clinician
KW  - primary care
KW  - longitudinal intervention
KW  - web-based
KW  - mobile health
KW  - mHealth
AB  - Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects 14% of the US adult population, yet patient knowledge about kidney disease and engagement in their kidney health is low despite many CKD education programs, awareness campaigns, and clinical practice guidelines. Objective: We aimed to examine the impact of the Kidney Score Platform (a patient-facing, risk-based online tool that provides interactive health information tailored to an individual’s CKD risk plus an accompanying clinician-facing Clinical Practice Toolkit) on individual engagement with CKD health and CKD communication between clinicians and patients. Methods: We conducted a pre-post intervention study in which English-speaking veterans at risk for CKD in two primary care settings interacted with the Kidney Score platform’s educational modules and their primary care clinicians were encouraged to review the Clinical Practice Toolkit. The impact of the Kidney Score on the Patient Activation Measure (the primary outcome), knowledge about CKD, and communication with their clinician about kidney health was determined with paired t tests. Multivariable linear and logistic models were used to determine whether changes in outcomes after versus before intervention were influenced by age, race or ethnicity, sex, and diabetes status, accounting for baseline values. Results: The study population (n=76) had a mean (SD) age of 64.4 (8.2) years, 88% (67/76) was male, and 30.3% (23/76) self-identified as African-American. Approximately 93% (71/76) had hypertension, 36% (27/76) had diabetes, and 9.2% (7/76) had CKD according to the laboratory criteria but without an ICD-10 (International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition) diagnosis. Patient interaction with the Kidney Score did not change the mean Patient Activation Measure (preintervention: 40.7%, postintervention: 40.2%, P=.23) but increased the mean CKD knowledge score (preintervention: 40.0%, postintervention 51.1%, P<.01), and changed the percentage of veterans who discussed CKD with their clinician (preintervention: 12.3%, postintervention: 31.5%, P<.01). Changes did not differ by age, sex, race, or diabetes status. Results were limited by the small sample size due to low recruitment and minimal clinician engagement with the Clinical Practice Toolkit during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusions: One-time web-based tailored education for patients can increase CKD knowledge and encourage conversations about kidney health. Increasing patient activation for CKD management may require multilevel, longitudinal interventions that facilitate ongoing conversations about kidney health between patients and clinician teams. 
SN  - 2561-326X
UR  - https://formative.jmir.org/2025/1/e56855
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/56855
DO  - 10.2196/56855
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/56855
ER  -