218 “Grip on Your Kidneys helped me to use less salt. I eat fewer licorices. I also halved the addition of salt to minced meat. Furthermore, I see a positive change of the consultation with the nephrologist. I was better prepared and it was more about topics I consider important!” Female with moderate kidney disease, 49 years “It was interesting to see how the consultation card affected the communication. By looking at what patients wanted to discuss I could provide them with tailored advice” Nephrologist after using the intervention Grip on Your Kidneys. Limited health literacy (LHL) is prevalent[1,2] and a risk factor for the development of acute and chronic illnesses, including chronic kidney disease (CKD)[3]. In other studies from our research group, we show LHL is associated with CKD onset, faster kidney decline and a higher prevalence of multimorbidity[4,5]. Furthermore, LHL is associated with lower treatment self-management in both acute and chronic illnesses, especially in non-medication treatment regimens[6,7]. Health literacy is a modifiable risk factor that interventions can target to improve selfmanagement in these patients. A focus on people with LHL has the potential to slow the increasing rate of CKD occurrence. Globally, the number of patients with CKD has increased in the last decades. CKD is expected to be the fifth leading cause of years of life expectancy lost by 2040[8,9]. Obesity, diabetes and hypertension are among the most important risk factors for developing CKD, which are all often caused by unhealthy behaviors[10]. The global rise of CKD has a high impact, both in terms of patient suffering and in terms of the societal costs for CKD treatment, especially in its advanced stages, and in end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). Despite the evidence, health literacy is often not appropriately addressed in prevention and clinical care.
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