The Kidney Diet Challenge: An Experiential Educational Experience

Area of Science:

• Nephrology
• Medical Education
• Nutrition Science

Background:

• Effective patient counseling on kidney-friendly diets is crucial for healthcare providers managing chronic kidney disease (CKD).
• Medical curricula often underemphasize nutrition, particularly the complexities of kidney diets.
• There is a need for improved educational tools to equip providers with practical skills for dietary counseling in CKD.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of an experiential educational program on healthcare professionals' knowledge of kidney-friendly diets.
• To evaluate the program's effectiveness in providing concrete strategies for counseling patients on complex kidney diets.
• To determine if participation in the Kidney Diet Challenge (KDC) improves understanding and application of kidney diet principles.

Main Methods:

• A knowledge assessment was administered to nephrology fellows and a broader global audience via social media.
• Participants interested in the second phase engaged in a 5-day Kidney Diet Challenge (KDC) with daily expert webinars.
• Daily surveys tracked adherence, and social media engagement was utilized, followed by a post-challenge knowledge assessment.

Main Results:

• Nephrology fellows demonstrated a low median pretest score (40%) on kidney diet knowledge.
• Participants completing the KDC showed a statistically significant improvement in post-challenge knowledge assessment scores (P<0.001).
• The study achieved substantial reach (406,241) and impressions (1,004,799) on social media using the #kidneydietchallenge hashtag.

Conclusions:

• The Kidney Diet Challenge (KDC) serves as an effective immersive and experiential educational tool.
• The program successfully enhanced the global population's ability to counsel patients on complex kidney diets.
• Experiential learning is valuable for improving healthcare providers' confidence and competence in dietary counseling for CKD patients.