Patient-Oriented Research Addressing Disparities in Hypertension and Kidney Disease

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PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT This is a proposal for a K24 Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research for Deidra C. Crews, MD, ScM of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Crews is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology, Core Faculty in the Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology and Clinical Research, and Associate Director for Research Development in the Center for Health Equity. Dr. Crews has spent the majority of her career and scholarship focused on patient-oriented research in disadvantaged populations with hypertension and/or chronic kidney disease (CKD). African Americans are disproportionately affected by hypertension and CKD, and socioeconomic factors contribute to these disparities. Racial disparities in CKD are most profound among socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. Low socioeconomic status (SES) and limited availability of healthy foods contribute to poor dietary patterns which influence CKD risk. There is evidence from observational studies that adherence to healthy dietary patterns, such as the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet, may substantially reduce risk of CKD and short-term randomized trials suggest the adoption of a healthy diet in adults with CKD may reduce risk of disease progression. The important problem to be addressed by the applicant over the proposed 5-year K24 award period is that low SES African Americans with hypertension and CKD face multiple barriers to healthful eating which can lead to their poor outcomes, including cardiovascular disease and ESRD. This K24 award will protect time for the applicant to mentor junior investigators and conduct significant research aimed at developing sustainable dietary interventions for individuals at high risk for poor clinical outcomes related to hypertension and CKD. The proposed original research will be conducted in the context of the Five, Plus Nuts and Beans for Kidneys trial, a randomized controlled dietary intervention study of low SES African Americans with hypertension and CKD, and will (a) elucidate experiences of recent intervention-arm (Coaching-DASH) participants determining their views on intervention components and factors facilitating or impeding their dietary changes, (b) examine the purchase patterns of the usual care group (Shopping-DASH), who received a trackable gift card to a local grocer but no guidance on purchases and (c) characterize and determine the impact of financial resource strain (defined as housing and/or food insecurity) on the primary and secondary outcomes of the trial—reductions in urinary albumin excretion and blood pressure. These aims will be addressed while Dr. Crews provides mentorship to new and existing junior faculty, post-doctoral fellows and students. Work performed during the K24 award will both inform future intervention design and implementation approaches to maximize sustainability of the applicant’s work, and will allow her to more effectively pursue her long-term career goals to improve outcomes for disadvantaged populations with or at risk for CKD.