New Resource for National Kidney Month

Office of Minority Health

Learn More About Kidney Disease & Treatment Strategies to Improve Health Outcomes for Vulnerable Populations

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Office of Minority Health (CMS OMH) is recognizing National Kidney Month by introducing a new kidney disease and treatment strategy resource to improve health outcomes, particularly among minority populations.

National Kidney Month raises awareness of kidney disease and its risk factors. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 37 million (15%) adults in the United States have chronic kidney disease (CKD) (Source). The disease and its 2 main causes—diabetes and high blood pressure—disproportionately affect minority groups. Minority groups also have a greater risk of moving from CKD to End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD), the last stage of CKD (Source). In the United States, CKD is most prevalent in Blacks/African Americans (16%), followed by Hispanics (14%), non-Hispanic whites (13%), and non-Hispanic Asians (12%) according to the CDC (Source).

During National Kidney Month, the CMS OMH encourages you to learn more about CKD from our new kidney disease resource, Guide to Reducing Chronic Kidney Disease Disparities in the Primary Care Setting:

       Click here to review the guide.

This guide about CKD and its disparities tells health care providers how they can help patients with CKD.  It also includes resources for primary care teams to use to treat vulnerable populations. Clinicians and their teams can use this guide to educate themselves, monitor patient progress, and connect patients to appropriate resources and refer those who need specialty care.

Next, learn more about diabetes—one of the main risk factors for kidney disease—and how to tailor treatments for vulnerable and minority populations with these resources:

• Diabetes Medication Management: Directory of Provider Resources
• Culturally and Linguistically Tailored Type 2 Diabetes Resources Inventory

To learn more about the CMS Office of Minority Health, visit go.cms.gov/omh or contact us at OMH@cms.hhs.gov.

Paid for by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.