Aston University Expert Calls for Urgent Action on Kidney Health Inequalities in Co-authored Report
In a new report, co-authored by Aston University’s Professor Shivani Sharma, Kidney Research UK highlights the persistence of kidney health inequalities due to age, sex, ethnicity, education, location or lack of wealth.
The UK’s leading kidney research charity is calling on the research and clinical community to take urgent action to address the social and economic inequalities that put some people at greater risk of kidney disease and prevent patients from accessing appropriate care and treatment.
The new report, Time To Act: A New Review of Kidney Health Inequalities, is authored by an academic, clinical, and patient team and comes five years after the charity’s previous report on kidney health inequalities which outlined 27 recommendations for change in clinical and research practice.
The new review exposes the limited progress since 2018, impacting people’s risk of disease and outcomes.
The updated evidence confirms that some communities are still impacted more by kidney disease than others, and disease progresses faster in some people. The report concludes that quality of care can vary and that a lack of focus on specific communities in research studies means that their needs and experiences are overlooked.
The report indicates that inequalities often overlap and many people experience inequalities in multiple ways, which increases their risk of poor kidney health. For example, people of Black African or Black Caribbean backgrounds living in areas of high deprivation are twice as likely to be impacted and at a younger age. Despite higher risk, minoritised communities are often under-served in wider research that can benefit physical and psychological well-being.
The charity has identified several vital gaps in research, including opportunities to use knowledge of genetic and societal risk factors to design interventions to improve kidney health, provide more evidence about how differentiated public health communication can help patients understand their diagnosis and care and to show how optimising digital health innovations can reduce kidney health inequalities.
Meaningful engagement from patients with diverse personal demographics and life experiences must underpin all research, the charity says.
Professor Liz Lightstone, trustee at Kidney Research UK and professor of renal medicine at Imperial College London, said:
“Kidney Research UK will continue to work tirelessly for patients by providing focused research investment. Wherever possible we will seek to fund research that tackles these issues, starting with the grants round we have opening at the end of this month.
“Eradicating unjust kidney health inequalities is an urgent priority and must become everyone’s responsibility, so that we can increase engagement and trust and deliver true change. We look forward to working with other funders, organisations, health decision makers and the new government so that together, we can ensure everyone has their fair chance at good kidney health.”
Professor Shivani Sharma, deputy dean and professor of health equity and inclusion in Aston University’s College of Business and Social Sciences and co-author of the report, said:
“We need to stop admiring the problem and focus on sustainable, whole system solutions to reduce unfair gaps in kidney health.
“It’s time to change the narrative that individual context dictates who is affected by kidney disease and how quickly they get access to the right care and at the right time.
“This report underscores the need for different stakeholders to work together across the life course so that prevention and intervention acts to reduce and not widen stubborn inequalities.
“There is enough data to drive evidence-based policy, funding, and practice reform that works better for those who are often ignored or ineligible to benefit from research.”
Professor Paul Cockwell, immediate past-president and trustee of the UK Kidney Association and medical director for long-term conditions and prevention at Birmingham and Solihull NHS, said:
“We are in a period of great change in healthcare including opportunities for personalised medicine from AI and disease-target identification, new therapies both for kidney disease and conditions that are so common in people with kidney disease to transformation of care models.
“Inclusive innovation is key to making sure that the benefits of such horizons are realised for better kidney health for all.
“The UK Kidney Association will work with Kidney Research UK and other stakeholders to support the implementation of the recommendations.”
The report was compiled by experts in kidney health from across the UK and across the kidney community, including kidney patients and primary and secondary care professionals. It can be found at: www.kidneyresearchuk.org/time-to-act