Upcoming webinar will address health disparities in treating chronic kidney disease

On Tuesday, May 9 at 12 p.m. ET, U.S. News & World Report will host a webinar sponsored by AKF about battling health disparities in treating chronic kidney disease. Viewers will hear from an expert panel, including AKF's President and CEO, LaVarne A. Burton, about some of the most promising efforts underway to improve access to effective kidney care for all.

The webinar is being held as part our ongoing outreach efforts related to AKF's Health Equity Initiative, which focuses on improving prevention and disease management, increasing diversity in trials, increasing awareness and uptake of home dialysis and removing barriers to transplantation among historically underrepresented groups. Earlier this year, AKF launched the Kidney Health for All website, which serves as an online hub for education and outreach and provides tools to help people take life-saving actions.

Chronic kidney disease affects more than 1 in 7 adults in the United States and the prevalence of kidney failure is growing at an alarming rate, rising 35% from 2010 to 2020. Compared to white Americans, Black Americans are roughly 4 times more likely and Americans of Hispanic ethnicity are about 2 times more likely to develop kidney failure. The intersection of systemic racism and social determinants of health has created unequal opportunities for patients of color to best manage their kidney disease before it's too late.

While addressing health disparities and advancing health equity has long been one of AKF's top priorities, in recent years, the organization has been tackling health inequities with a particular focus. AKF is pleased to be part of this important discussion, which will also feature an expert panel comprised of the following speakers:

Lilia Cervantes, M.D., MSCS, Director of Immigrant Health and Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
Deidra C. Crews, M.D., ScM, FASN, MACP, Professor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the Deputy Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity.
Elaine Ku, M.D., Associate Professor in the Departments of Medicine, Pediatrics, and Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Ku is a member of AKF's Health Equity Coalition and a past AKF Clinical Scientist in Nephrology fellow.

For more information and to register for the webinar, click here.

AKF's Health Equity Initiative is supported by Presenting Sponsors AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly and Company, Travere Therapeutics, Inc., and Vertex Pharmaceuticals; Equity Sponsor Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.; and Merck.