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Background: Most people with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are not aware of their condition. Objectives: To assess screening criteria in identifying a population with or at high risk for CKD and to determine their level of control of CKD risk factors. Method: CKD Health Evaluation Risk Information Sharing (CHERISH), a demonstration project of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hosted screenings at 2 community locations in each of 4 states. People with diabetes, hypertension, or aged ≥50 years were eligible to participate. In addition to CKD, screening included testing and measures of hemoglobin A1C, blood pressure, and lipids. ­Results: In this targeted population, among 894 people screened, CKD prevalence was 34%. Of participants with diabetes, 61% had A1C < 7%; of those with hypertension, 23% had blood pressure < 130/80 mm Hg; and of those with high cholesterol, 22% had low-density lipoprotein < 100 mg/dL. Conclusions: Using targeted selection criteria and simple clinical measures, CHERISH successfully identified a population with a high CKD prevalence and with poor control of CKD risk factors. CHERISH may prove helpful to state and local programs in implementing CKD detection programs in their communities.

This year, 2011, the National Kidney Foundation’s (NKF) Kidney Early Evaluation Program (KEEP) celebrates its 11th anniversary, approaching 3,500 cumulative screening events conducted by 48 affiliates and reaching more than 165,000 people in communities across the country. KEEP serves as the largest and most comprehensive and sustained multicenter community-based chronic kidney disease (CKD) screening program in the United States. While focused on CKD, KEEP also functions as a unique means of screening for and discovering obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease. The NKF’s approach to social marketing (Fig 1), patient education, and advocacy combined with KEEP’s data capabilities, longitudinal tracking, and feedback to clinicians have made the program the nation’s leading effort to screen for and intervene in chronic diseases. KEEP’s structure as an outreach effort, coupled with a sense of activism in recent years regarding primary prevention of chronic disease, has enabled sustained growth and international expansion.

Background The National Kidney Foundation Kidney Early Evaluation Program (KEEP) is a free community-based health-screening program targeting populations at greatest risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD), those with high rates of diabetes and hypertension, and a high proportion of racial/ethnic minorities. The KEEP Longitudinal Survey will adopt methods similar to those used in KEEP to gather follow-up data to measure CKD-related heath status and gauge program effectiveness for repeated KEEP participants with evidence of CKD stages 3 to 5. KEEP has defined objectives to enhance follow-up survey response rates and target vulnerable populations who bear the greatest CKD risk-factor burdens. Methods The KEEP Follow-up Form was assessed for adherence to 6 cognitive design principles (simplicity, consistency, organization, natural order, clarity, and attractiveness) considered to summate the techniques guiding good survey development and for the additional cognitive design principles of readability and variation of readability across survey items. Results The KEEP Follow-up Form was found to include violations of each cognitive design principle and readability principle, possibly contributing to item nonresponse and low follow-up rates in KEEP. It was revised according to empirically substantiated formatting techniques guided by these principles and found during qualitative assessment to be more user friendly, simpler, better organized, more attractive, and easier to read. Subsequent development of the KEEP Longitudinal Survey form also was guided by these principles. Conclusion To ensure ease of use by populations with limited literacy skills, poor health literacy, and limited survey literacy, survey researchers must apply cognitive design principles to survey development to improve participation and response rates.