Table 1.
Characteristics of focus group participants (n=30)
| Characteristics | Median (Range) or N (%) |
|---|---|
| Age | 75.1 (70.1–90.7) |
| Black race | 18 (60.0) |
| Men | 29 (96.7) |
| Income<$20,000/yr | 10 (33.3) |
| Low health literacya | 7 (23.3) |
| Confidenceb | 10.5 (6.0–18.0) |
| Life-space mobilityc | 76.0 (43.5–120.0) |
| Married | 15 (50.0) |
| Social supportd | 20.0 (12.0–25.0) |
| Self-reported health (excellent, very good, good) | 17 (56.7) |
| Hypertension | 27 (90.0) |
| Diabetes | 20 (66.7) |
| Heart failure | 7 (23.3) |
| Arthritis | 22 (73.3) |
| Gout | 16 (53.3) |
| Depression/PTSD | 6 (20.0) |
| Number of medications | 12.5 (3.0–29.0) |
| eGFR, ml/min per 1.73 m2 | |
| 45–59 | 4 (13.3) |
| 30–44 | 18 (60.0) |
| <30 | 8 (26.7) |
| CKD trajectory | |
| Stable | 9 (30.0) |
| Linear decline | 10 (33.3) |
| Nonlinear | 11 (36.7) |
| Urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio, mg/g | |
| <30 | 15 (50) |
| 30–299 | 8 (26.7) |
| ≥300 | 7 (23.3) |
| Hemoglobin, g/dl | 12.9 (9.3–16.8) |
| Albumin, g/dl | 3.6 (2.9–4.1) |
| Serum potassium, mEq/L | 4.1 (3.0–5.1) |
| Serum bicarbonate, mEq/L | 27.5 (20.0–38.0) |
| Serum phosphorus, mg/dl | 3.6 (2.3–5.1) |
| Serum intact PTH, pg/ml | 80 (37.8–359.1) |
| Nephrology care, yr | 3.3 (0.3–12.9) |
PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder; PTH, parathyroid hormone.
a
Health literacy screening defined as “somewhat, a little bit, or not at all” when asked “how confident are you filling out medical forms by yourself?” (15,19,20).
b
Self-reported confidence in CKD-related self-management tasks. Scores range from 6 to 30 with higher scores indicating lower confidence (16).
c
Life-space assessment measures of how far, how frequent, and amount of assistance needed when moving through one’s environment in the last 4 weeks. Scores range from 0 (bedbound) to 120 (beyond one’s town without the use of an assistive device or help from another person) (21).