Introduction: Significance
The rates of kidney disease continue to grow on the global scale (Kidney Disease Statistics for the United States, n.d.). As reported by the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, the chronic kidney disease is very common in the USA; practically, every tenth individual in the country has a certain degree of this condition (Kidney Disease Statistics for the United States, n.d.). In the world, about ten percent of the population is diagnosed with chronic kidney disease (National Kidney Foundation, 2016).
In the list of the world’s leading causes of death, the chronic kidney disease is marked as number 18; and it used to be at the 27th position just a couple decades ago (National Kidney Foundation, 2016). The people affected by this condition are in need to dialysis and many other resources such as kidney transplantations (Kidney Disease Statistics for the United States, n.d.). The population with end-stage renal disease and chronic kidney disease is becoming larger by the year, and that is why the modern healthcare is in need of solutions to the issue.
Solution
One way to solve the problem of the rapid growth of the dialysis population size is to provide a high-quality primary care to the patients with chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease in order to delay the deterioration and development of the conditions and thus minimize the rates of mortality and morbidity (Fox et al., 2013). It is known that the early recognition of the disease and the following provision of the suitable treatment slow down the deterioration of the patients’ health (Balogun & Bolton, 2016). Namely, the condition is heavily affected by the occurrence of the comorbid issues such as cardiovascular disease that usually becomes the cause of death of the patients with kidney disease at all stages (Balogun & Bolton, 2016).
Primary care approach
In primary care, the medical professionals can introduce changes in order to address the factors associated with the development of the chronic kidney disease in order to improve the quality of life of the patients and reduce health risks. Some of the factors contributing to the development of this condition are male gender, African American race, and older age – these factors cannot be impacted via medical treatments; the modifiable factors include high BP, increased level of protein-uria, smoking, and low level of serum albumin (Murphree & Thelen, 2010). In addition, the Japanese researchers also discussed the connections of nutritional factors and renal anemia on the development of the chronic kidney disease (Japanese Society of Nephrology, 2009).
Conclusion
Based on the statistics of the global public health, the chronic kidney disease is a growing concern that causes the increased size of the dialysis population. In order to address this problem, the condition is to be targeted at the early stages. For this purpose, screening and early assessment of the condition need to be in place to detect the CKD patients and provide them with the necessary education concerning the management of this condition they can apply independently (it involves dietary and lifestyle choices, moderation of protein intake, maintenance of appropriate energy levels, smoking cessation, to name a few).
These measures would not only slow down the development of the chronic kidney disease in the affected population but also improve their quality of life and address the comorbid conditions contributing to the rapid deterioration of the CKD. In turn, the size of the dialysis population will be minimized.
References
Balogun, R. A. & Bolton, W. K. (2016).Chronic Kidney Disease: A Brief Review for the Primary Care Physician. JCOM. Web.
Fox, C., Vest, B., Kahn, L., Dickinson, M., Fang, H., Pace, W.,… Peterson., K. (2013). Improving evidence-based primary care for chronic kidney disease: study protocol for a cluster randomized control trial for translating evidence into practice. Implementation Science, 8(88).
Japanese Society of Nephrology. (2009). Preface: evidence-based practice guideline for the treatment of chronic kidney disease. Clinical and Experimental Nephrology, 13, 534–536.
Murphree, D. D. & Thelen, S. M. (2010).Chronic Kidney Disease in Primary Care. JABFM, 23(4), 542-550.
Kidney Disease Statistics for the United States. (2016). Web.
The National Kidney Foundation. (2015). Global Facts: About Kidney Disease. Web.