Knowledge about their illness of patients with kidney disease, and their communication with physicians

OBJECTIVE To assess the knowledge of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) about their disease and the level of communication between them and their physicians, and their determinants. METHOD A cross-sectional study was conducted in a private hemodialysis clinic in Athens with 85 patients aged > 18 years in the final stage of CKD, who participated voluntarily and anonymously. The data were collected between February and June 2016, using the questionnaires"Communication Assessment Tool","Kidney Knowledge Survey"and 'Perceived Kidney Knowledge Survey; after obtaining the written permission of their owners. Data analysis was performed with the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (IBM SPSS), version 21.0. RESULTS The mean age of the patients was 58 years and 71.8% were males. Regarding the health care provided by their physicians, 50.6% rated their care as excellent, 44.7% as very good and 4.7% as good. Deficiency in their knowledge about CKD was identified related to glomerular filtration, medications that should be avoided, the impact of high amounts of proteins on the kidneys and the role of the kidneys in baldness. Lower age, higher educational level and an increased self-estimation knowledge score about kidney disease were associated with higher knowledge scores about CKD. Older age was associated with better reported communication between patients and physicians. Higher knowledge score about kidney disease and longer duration of the disease were associated with a higher self-estimation knowledge score about kidney disease. CONCLUSIONS Patients with CKD reported satisfactory knowledge about the disease, kidney function and the symptoms of the disease, but with some deficiencies. Patient education with regard to the risks of kidney disease is necessary to improve self-care, decrease the negative consequences of the disease and enhance their quality of life.