Healthcare workers at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda are working with churches and attending family gatherings this spring to reach Black Washington, D.C., residents suffering from kidney disease.
Healthcare workers at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, are working with churches and attending family reunions this spring to reach Black Washington, D.C., residents suffering from kidney disease.
The nation's capital has the highest rate of kidney disease in the nation, primarily among black residents in southeast D.C., said Dr. Griffin Rogers, director of the NIH's Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. It is said that they are doing so.
During March, Kidney Awareness Month, NIH staff will be distributing health care guides at churches and family gatherings. This guide provides information about kidney disease and how to get tested.
The NIH website outlines, “You don't have to be an expert to be a kidney advocate for your faith community.” There are simple things you can do to get involved. ”
Rogers said the NIH is always reaching out to the church community, but plans to expand its efforts directly to families once the weather warms up.
“We know that people get most of their trusted information from the church,” Rogers said. “And we know that as spring and summer approach, people tend to go out for picnics with their families. It means members of the group are also at risk.”
The kidneys filter water and remove waste from the body. It also produces hormones involved in the development of healthy bones and red blood cells.
“The kidneys are really hard workers,” says Rogers. “They do quite a bit.”
According to the National Kidney Foundation, Black Americans across the country suffer from kidney disease because they have higher rates of diabetes and high blood pressure, which affect the kidneys and cause them to malfunction.
But in D.C., Black residents are 44 times more likely to develop kidney disease, Rogers said.
He told patients that a healthy lifestyle, including exercise, eating right, getting enough sleep and not smoking, can prevent kidney disease and recommends getting tested before symptoms such as nausea, muscle cramps or loss of appetite appear. He added that it is important to receive
“First you have to know you have it,” Rogers said. “When you go to see a health care professional, make sure they have been tested. If not, be sure to get tested.”
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