In action

The Kidney Health Code aims to be a powerful tool for helping stakeholders enhance kidney health and improve access to treatments. Its primary function is to serve as a comprehensive resource for a wide range of communication channels and trusted messengers, empowering them to share vital information with diverse audiences—whether in medical societies, schools, workplaces, traditional media, online communities, or social media platforms. By leveraging the in-depth understanding of the audiences’ needs and communication styles, communicators and communication tools play a pivotal role in raising awareness and promoting better kidney health.

Kidney health campaigns must consider that not everyone has the same ability to understand medical information. To ensure the message reaches as many people as possible, it is essential to offer resources in various formats, including infographics, videos, podcasts, and blogs. This not only accommodates different learning preferences but also helps engage a broader audience.

The European Kidney Health Code is a valuable resource to develop kidney health literacy training programs to teach advocates and healthcare professionals how to communicate effectively with diverse groups, especially those with limited health literacy.

Patient groups and moderators of online support groups^[1], such as Facebook groups, play a vital role in raising awareness and advocating. They can use tools like the Kidney Health Code as a reference for providing accurate information, educating patients, and advocating for better care. These platforms can:

• Share reliable and contextualized information for the development of leaflets, infographics, websites, videos and podcasts, if needed in the local language
• Encourage discussions about kidney health in a peer-supported environment.
• Inspire webinars and social media to actively inform their communities about kidney disease risks and management.
• Serve as focal points for organizing community-based campaigns and advocacy efforts.

Suggested additional advocacy tools available to support groups

• National Kidney Organisation. Patient Engagement Advocacy Guide. 2022. https://www.kidney.org/sites/default/files/voices_guide_june_2022.pdf
• National Kidney Organisation. Advocacy resources. https://www.kidney.org/advocacy/resources
• World Kidney Day. 2020 Advocacy Toolkit. https://www.worldkidneyday.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/WKD-2020-Advocacy_Toolkit.pdf
• Scientific Tools. Infographics on Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) Epidemiology. https://scientific-tools.org/portfolio-item/infographics-on-chronic-kidney-disease-ckd-epidemiology/

^[1] For e.g. https://renaloo.com/forumrenaloo/topic/groupe-facebook-le-don-dorgane-entre-vivants-parlons-en/ and https://www.nieren.nl/groepen

Policymakers are often unaware of the significant burden by kidney diseases on public health, despite the alarming amount of supportive evidence. It is crucial for policymakers to recognize kidney diseases as a major health issue. By using the European Kidney Health Code and referring to evidence-based reports and data from trusted sources, patient groups and health care providers can highlight the urgent need to prioritize kidney health in policy discussions.

This code can also provide reference background material for developing research projects, which are to be encouraged as kidney disease is considered an under-researched disease area.