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. 2019 Feb 3;8(2):176.
doi: 10.3390/jcm8020176.

Confidence in Women's Health: A Cross Border Survey of Adult Nephrologists

Elizabeth M Hendren  1 , Monica L Reynolds  2 , Laura H Mariani  3   4 , Jarcy Zee  5 , Michelle M O'Shaughnessy  6 , Andrea L Oliverio  7 , Nicholas W Moore  8 , Peg Hill-Callahan  9 , Dana V Rizk  10 , Salem Almanni  11 , Katherine E Twombley  12 , Emily Herreshoff  13 , Carla M Nester  14 , Michelle A Hladunewich  15
Affiliations

Confidence in Women's Health: A Cross Border Survey of Adult Nephrologists

Elizabeth M Hendren et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

A range of women's health issues are intimately related to chronic kidney disease, yet nephrologists' confidence in counseling or managing these issues has not been evaluated. The women's health working group of Cure Glomerulonephropathy (CureGN), an international prospective cohort study of glomerular disease, sought to assess adult nephrologists' training in, exposure to, and confidence in managing women's health. A 25-item electronic questionnaire was disseminated in the United States (US) and Canada via CureGN and Canadian Society of Nephrology email networks and the American Society of Nephrology Kidney News. Response frequencies were summarized using descriptive statistics. Responses were compared across provider age, gender, country of practice, and years in practice using Pearson's chi-squared test or Fisher's exact test. Among 154 respondents, 53% were women, 58% practiced in the US, 77% practiced in an academic setting, and the median age was 41⁻45 years. Over 65% of respondents lacked confidence in women's health issues, including menstrual disorders, preconception counseling, pregnancy management, and menopause. Most provided contraception or preconception counseling to less than one woman per month, on average. Only 12% had access to interdisciplinary pregnancy clinics. Finally, 89% felt that interdisciplinary guidelines and/or continuing education seminars would improve knowledge. Participants lacked confidence in both counseling and managing women's health. Innovative approaches are warranted to improve the care of women with kidney disease and might include the expansion of interdisciplinary clinics, the development of case-based teaching materials, and interdisciplinary treatment guidelines focused on this patient group.

Keywords: chronic kidney disease; glomerular disease; pregnancy complication; pregnancy outcome; surveys and questionnaires.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart of survey design and dissemination.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Frequency of obstetrical history documentation by survey respondents.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Average frequency of counseling provided by survey respondents in the areas of (a) contraception/family planning and (b) preconception.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Nephrologists’ confidence managing common women’s health issues.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Nephrologists’ confidence managing pregnancy-related topics.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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