Publications by authors named "Karren King"

Unbiased patient education for individuals with chronic kidney disease can result in a multitude of positive benefits. The current study reviewed 1,844 participants in a six-topic patient education program over a 12-year period from June 1994 to July 2006, examining patients' level of knowledge about CKD, preferences for treatment, and feelings of hope and fear before and after the educational intervention. After the educational intervention, patients scored significantly higher on knowledge tests of all topics than they scored on the pre-test (p < .

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Future study of communication between dialysis patients and health care providers could not only aid in understanding the survey findings but also advance emphasis on those areas of care needing to be enhanced. By raising awareness about communication in the dialysis unit, it is hoped that health care professionals will embrace the need to encourage patients to be more involved in the educational and treatment process, enabling them to become active partners in their health care.

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Based on casual conversations among those working in dialysis units, dialysis facility staff often face situations created by difficult or disruptive patients, yet relatively little is known about these situations. A computer interactive session at a national meeting in April 2000 was used to gather information on this topic from 203 persons who worked in dialysis facilities. Most respondents viewed situations with such patients as an increasing problem for the nephrology community.

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Background: More than 340,000 individuals were receiving renal replacement therapy in the United States at the end of 1999; this number is projected to double by the year 2010. Almost half had a primary diagnosis of diabetes mellitus particularly type 2, and more than one quarter a primary diagnosis of hypertension. Studies have demonstrated effective maneuvers to prevent or delay the rate of progression of kidney disease, and decrease morbidity and mortality.

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Background: Early identification of persons at risk for kidney disease provides an opportunity to prevent or delay its progression and decrease morbidity and mortality. Our hypothesis was that implementation of a targeted screening program in communities with high-risk populations would detect previously unidentified persons with or at high risk for chronic kidney disease (CKD) with a prevalence that exceeds that predicted for CKD in the general population.

Methods: Persons with hypertension or diabetes or a first-order relative with hypertension, diabetes, or kidney disease were screened for kidney disease risk factors.

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Rehabilitation of patients on dialysis encompasses vocational, physical, psychological, and social domains. Rehabilitation efforts in each of these areas require not only a team approach but also performance of specific roles and responsibilities by each member of that team. This National Kidney Foundation survey will show that nephrology professionals do not routinely associate their main professional activities with the rehabilitation of their patients and that all too frequently dialysis patients do not see rehabilitation as within their realm.

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