Health
Education Program Helps Kidney Patients Understand and Make Decisions Regarding Their Health
By
Feb 4, 2009, 21:50

Education programs are helping kidney patients to understand the changes they must make in regards to their health. Learn more about the decisions kidney patients can make.
(NC)-Each day, approximately 14 Canadians learn that they have chronic kidney failure (CKF) - a gradual deterioration of their kidney function. For many of these patients, CKF evolves into a terminal condition. While it can be controlled through dialysis, no cure is available and a kidney transplant is often needed. When the kidneys stop functioning, the patient's health can only be supported through treatment and major changes in daily routine and lifestyle.

Kidney patients are readily provided with information related to their condition, including treatment options, dietary changes and the psychological and physical effects of transplantation. This information is often given to the patient over the course of numerous meetings with their medical team. Due to the sheer amount, patients often experience difficulty absorbing all of the information at once..In fact, a Canadian study of post-transplant patients in 1999 revealed that patients considering kidney transplantation felt they required additional support.

As a result of this study, Transplant Companions, a free nationwide interactive education program, was launched in 2003 to meet the information needs of pre-transplant kidney patients. This program recently celebrated its 5th anniversary. With information workshops led by health care professionals and a patient who has had a kidney transplant, this hospital-based program offers renal patients a forum for education, dialogue and the sharing of experiences.

"Transplant Companions owes its success, in part, to the interactive workshops offered in the transplant centres of hospitals," said Jean Lacroix, a kidney recipient who regularly shares his transplant story with pre-transplant patients at program workshops in the Montreal area. "These workshops place participants in direct contact with a kidney transplant professional, a post-transplant patient and a number of other individuals whose health situation is similar to their own. It's a real support system for patients and their family members, and facilitates and demystifies the entire organ transplant process," he concluded.

"Transplant Companions is an invaluable resource for patients, their families and their health care team," explained Diane Dumont, Renal Transplant Coordinator at The Ottawa Hospital. "It is a key educational tool that our renal transplant program uses to provide patients and their families with a wealth of information which they value and need to make decisions about their care. More importantly, kidney patients who take part in the Transplant Companions group workshops benefit from peer support by meeting someone who has been through the transplant experience and learning that they are not alone in facing the challenges of dialysis, dealing with the strain of their disease on family members, or in waiting for an organ match," she added.

Transplant Companions workshops are currently held in 13 hospitals and clinics across Canada. The program is funded through an educational grant from Astellas Pharma Canada, Inc. and was developed with input from a nationwide multidisciplinary committee consisting of transplant medical professionals, patients and patient advocacy groups who regularly evaluate and update the program. The Transplant Companions program and its resources can be accessed at www.transplantcompanions.ca or by calling 1 866 446-3030.

© Copyright by EveningsNews.com