DPC is pleased to announce that the first graduating class of community health workers (CHW) from Illinois have completed the Chronic Kidney Disease CHW training curriculum. DPC has led this effort in Illinois over the last two years, developing the first-in-the-nation kidney disease training curriculum for CHWs. The training will help CHWs educate their communities about kidney disease and help people at risk for kidney failure learn how to take care of their health, slow disease progression and reduce the number of people who start dialysis in the hospital emergency room as they are not aware that their kidneys are failing. CHWs are uniquely positioned to take this training back to the communities where they work and live, presenting this critically important kidney disease education to clients at community health centers, health departments and other community-based organizations.
The curriculum is designed for students to complete the first six modules on-line, with the final module at an in-person session that includes role-playing and discussion of a variety of patient scenarios that community health workers will likely experience when working with their clients. The in-person training for this first graduating class was recently held on August 20, 2024, at the Illinois Public Health Association CHW Summit in Springfield, Illinois. The training modules are:
- Your Kidneys and You
- Chronic Kidney Disease Awareness
- Self-care for Kidney Health
- Disparities and Kidney Disease
- Diagnosis and Treatment
- Coping with Diagnosis, Trauma and Grief
This curriculum is the first of two phases of kidney disease training being developed for community health workers. The second phase under development focuses on a specialized training about dialysis modalities and kidney transplantation.
