where can I find kidney school in spanish?

[karen]

Please help me My son's sister-in law, who lives in El Paso has end stage kidney dx. So far she has refused dialysis. Tomorrow we are meeting with the social worker and then departing back to Mi. We have done all we can to encourage her. It might help if she could do the kidney school in Spanish. She does NOTG speak English and I don't speak spanish. Can anyone tell me where I can find this info>? Thank you karen

[Dori Schatell]

Hi Karen,

We don't have Kidney School available in Spanish, because we found through our research that, on average across the country, the median education level for patients who read Spanish only was 6th grade (suggesting a comfortable reading level of about 3rd grade), and Kidney School is written at the 7th-9th grade level.

We do offer the Keys to a Long Life fact sheets in Spanish right on this site (look under "Teaching Tools" on the main navigation menu). Another possibility to find more educational materials in Spanish is to check with the American Association of Kidney Patients (www.aakp.org), the National Kidney Foundation (www.kidney.org), and the ESRD Network for your region. You can find your ESRD Network at www.esrdnetworks.org.

[Beth Witten MSW ACSW]

The American Association of Kidney Patients' Spanish materials can be found at http://www.aakp.org/AAKP/espanol.htm. These are also available in print.

The National Kidney Foundation's Spanish materials can be found at (http://www.kidney.org/atoz/atozTopic_sp.cfm). These are also available in print.

The National Kidney & Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse has published booklets in Spanish, including some for people with kidney disease and kidney failure at http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/spanish/index.asp.

To find education materials on a variety of subjects and in several languages, visit the Combined Health Information Database (http://www.chid.nih.gov). You can find Spanish materials by doing a detailed search in the database for Kidney and Urologic Diseases and choosing Spanish as the language from a drop down menu. You also can choose how recent you want the publication to be...the newer the publication, the fewer the items. Expect to find topics related to all types of kidney conditions and symptoms.

A publication I found from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Kanter Foundation on coping with chronic disease is called "Now You Have a Diagnosis: What's Next? Using Health Care Information to Help Make Treatment Decisions. [Le Han Diagnosticado: Que es lo Que Sigue?]." You can read the English version of this 15 page publication at http://www.ahcpr.gov/consumer/diaginfo.htm. You can order a free copy of the Spanish version from: AHRQ Publications Clearinghouse. P.O. Box 8547, Silver Spring, MD 20907. (800) 358-9295. An abstract of the booklet states: "This patient education booklet encourages readers to learn more about their health diagnosis in order to make educated choices and participate as active members of their own health care team. The booklet notes that for many conditions, there is no one 'right' treatment; patients may have several options, each with benefits and disadvantages. The booklet suggests that readers contact groups supporting their particular condition, visit the local library, and search on the Internet to find good information to help guide their treatment decisions. The booklet guides readers in determining whether the information they are finding (particularly on the Internet) is accurate, science based, and reputable. The booklet then describes the different types of research studies and the types of information and data that may be found by each: laboratory experiments, clinical trials, epidemiological research, and outcomes research. The next section of the booklet explains how to go from information gathering to the decision on how to treat or manage one's condition; steps outlined include checking out the options, looking at the benefits and risks of each treatment, and developing a treatment plan in tandem with the health care provider. The booklet then includes a section on the importance of seeking emotional support for understanding and coping with any disease. The booklet concludes with a list of resources, including free booklets, telephone referrals, and Internet resources."