Internet‐Based Tools to Assess Diet and Provide Feedback in CKD IV

Abstract

Successfully changing patients’ dietary behavior is a challenging problem in the management of chronic kidney disease (CKD). To test the feasibility and acceptability of an internet‐based, self‐administered, dietary assessment tool equipped with instructional feedback, aimed at facilitating patient dietary change and reducing resource burdens on providers, 12 patients diagnosed with stage IV CKD (pre‐dialysis stage) were recruited. Multiple validated questionnaires, gauging nutritional education, importance in CKD management and patients’ compliance to required dietary guidelines were applied. Results show that 25–30% of the patients were severely non‐compliant to the requirement guidelines for each nutrient. Awareness about the role of diet in CKD management was found among 0%–58% of population varying over different nutrients. All of the patients successfully completed the web based dietary assessment. Patients and physicians differed considerably in their perception of the use of the report. Dietary knowledge and adherence to KDOQI guidelines is suboptimal among CKD patients, however, interest and motivation is high. Web based tools are well‐accepted among CKD patients as an aid to assessing dietary adherence to KDOQI guidelines and may pose a cost effective approach to bridging the adherence gap.