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NKF joins KidneyX efforts with patient-directed prize competition
HHS, the American Society of Nephrology and the National Kidney Foundation have joined together to present the KidneyX: Patient Innovator Challenge. Funded by the NKF, the competition seeks and encourages ideas and solutions that significantly help – and are developed by – kidney patients and patient care partners.
The competition invites individuals, communities, businesses, institutions and non-profit organizations, among others, to submit ideas “on how to solve some of the most frustrating problems facing the kidney community so that patients can live full, productive and functional lives,” the NKF said.
Key areas of focus include, but are not limited to, managing side effects of dialysis or transplant treatment, ways to gain patient independence, successful diet and fluid regimens, techniques to increase physical activity and methods that help sustain family and social life or improve overall quality of life.
“Through this prize competition, we are asking patients and their caregivers, who are directly impacted by kidney diseases, to share innovative approaches to address issues that are most challenging for patients and their families,” John R. Sedor, MD, FASN, chair of the KidneyX Steering Committee, said in a release. “We are looking for approaches or tools that will help people living with kidney diseases have a better quality of life. These projects may improve patient health, relieve troublesome symptoms, ease the burden of kidney replacement therapies or even reduce the cost of care.”
“We know there are patients and care partners out there who have figured out novel workarounds to help them live their best lives and manage the disease,” Kevin Longino, CEO of NKF and a kidney transplant patient, said in the release. “We hope our funding and support of this competition will allow those ideas to be shared with others. Patients have been our focus since we were founded nearly 70 years ago; and we can’t wait to see how these ideas and innovations will impact their lives.”
Submissions will be accepted Aug. 1, 2019, through Sept. 16, 2019. Prizes will be awarded to winners in two categories.
- solutions in practice, which are solutions already tried or put into practice; and
- new ideas, which are solutions that have not yet been created or tried.
Judges will review the submissions and up to 10 winners will be awarded $4,000 each in category 1, and up to 15 winners will be awarded $2,000 each in category 2.
For detailed rules and to apply visit www.kidneyx.org.
Reference:
www.kidneyx.org/WhatWeDo/PrizeCompetitions/patientinnovatorchallenge