Renal health for all: educational intervention in older adults, a case of good practice

Abstract

The educational intervention arises from the interest of preventing chronic kidney disease, considered as the public health problem of this century, due to the increase in incidence and prevalence, chronic kidney disease is a serious health problem that affects older adults. When presenting asymptomatically, it leads to diagnosis in terminal stages, with high treatment costs and loss of quality of life in the elderly; however, an adequate educational intervention can reduce the incidence in cases of chronic kidney disease. In some cases, the disease is due to a lack of knowledge about prevention measures, which is why the educational intervention arises: renal health for all, which is developed in the primary care clinic of a town in Michoacán, Mexico. Older adults come with their families once a week to receive training, being of vital importance to work together with their primary caregivers and thus strengthen the intervention when it is delivered to other age groups. Among the activities carried out, the active participation of older adults stands out by sharing their ideas, experiences and work done with other people, which keeps them active, happy and makes them feel important and useful. In a first evaluation, it was possible to identify that the intervention generated a significant impact on the change of behavior of healthy lifestyles, 34 older adults changed the consumption of sweet drinks for the consumption of simple water, 35 modified their diet, and they attend the physical activity session without missing. At the moment, it has been possible to verify the change in attitude, the increase in self-esteem, and the motivation to adopt nephroprotective measures.