Toward Equitable Kidney Care: Insights from the Survey Among Polish Doctors on the Women's Health in Chronic Kidney Disease Management.

Background/

Objectives

Chronic kidney disease is more prevalent among women, and there are significant disparities in the management of female patients. Our study aimed to assess the clinical experience and educational needs of physicians in the treatment of reproductive and sex and gender-related health problems in patients with CKD.

Methods

The three-part survey was distributed among nephrologists and other internal medicine specialists in Poland, both online and in paper form.

Results

A total of 116 physicians participated in the survey, including 81 nephrologists. Most respondents (64.7%) were female and practiced in multispecialty hospitals (72.4%). While 97.4% managed patients with CKD, only 37.9% reported caring for pregnant women. Experience in sex-specific and pregnancy-related issues was limited-56.9% reported low or minimal experience in managing CKD during pregnancy. Residency training lacked coverage of crucial topics, with 66.2% reporting limited teaching on sex-related CKD progression. Over 90% supported integrating reproductive planning and interdisciplinary care into nephrology, favoring guidelines, conferences, and webinars for education.

Conclusions

Our study has highlighted a critical discrepancy between the importance of sex-specific and reproductive health considerations in the management of CKD and the current level of clinical experience among Polish doctors.