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NIH Radio

African-Americans Urged to Discuss Kidney Disease at Family Reunions

Brief Description:
The National Kidney Disease Education Program is urging families — especially African-American ones — to use summertime reunions to spread the word about kidney disease.

Transcript:
Schmalfeldt: For a lot of families, summer means family reunions. The National Kidney Disease Education Program wants families, especially African-American families, to use these reunions to spread the word about kidney disease. Doctor Thomas Hostetter is the director of the NKDEP, part of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

Hostetter: Well, our overall goal is to reduce chronic kidney failure. African-Americans have a lot more kidney failure than the other segments of the U.S. population. In fact, African-Americans have about a four-times increased risk of developing kidney failure compared to the white population.

Schmalfeldt: How to bring up the subject of kidney disease at a family reunion?

Hostetter: We have some discussion points that the family could use much like you find now on the back of books if you want to discuss it at your book club. We have that as part of this package which can be downloaded from our website.

Schmalfeldt: That website is www.nkdep.nih.gov/familyreunion. From the National Institutes of Health, I'm Bill Schmalfeldt in Bethesda, Maryland.

This page was last reviewed on October 18, 2005 .

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