Multidisciplinary education and lifestyle camps for CKD patients and their closest family members: effects on disease progression, self-management and psychosocial condition-a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Multidisciplinary education including psychosocial care (MDE) may alleviate high burden of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Family support also has utmost importance, yet, MDE has rarely been provided jointly for patients and their relatives.

Methods: We organized intensive, 1-week-long boarding MDE and lifestyle camps for CKD stage III-V patients and their relatives and assessed the rate of CKD progression, proportion of participants' home-based dialysis choice, transplant activity, and improvement of their coping and attitude evaluated by written narratives.