Global Kidney Health Atlas (GKHA): design and methods

Abstract

There has been considerable effort within individual countries to improve the care of patients with kidney disease. There has been no concerted attempt to summarize these efforts, and therefore little is known about structuring health systems to facilitate acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease (CKD) care and integration with national and international noncommunicable disease strategies. As part of the “Closing the Gaps Initiative,” the International Society of Nephrology will conduct for the first time a survey of the current state of global kidney care covering both acute kidney injury and CKD and present the results in a Global Kidney Health Atlas. Data will be collected via an online questionnaire and targeted at national nephrology societies, policymakers, and consumer organizations. Individual country information will be provided by at least 3 stakeholders. The Global Kidney Health Atlas will provide concise, relevant, and synthesized information on the delivery of care across different health systems to facilitate understanding of performance variations over time and between countries. First, it will provide an overview of existing CKD care policy and context in the health care system. Second, it will provide an overview of how CKD care is organized in individual countries and a description of relevant CKD epidemiology between countries and regions, focusing on elements that are most germane to service delivery and policy development. Finally, synthesis, comparison, and analysis of individual country/regional data will be provided as a platform for recommendations to policymakers, practitioners, and researchers.