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The WHO declared 2020 as the “Year of the Nurse and the Midwife.” In May 2020, the ISN Kidney Health Professionals Working Group (KHPWG) emphasized the key role nephrology nurses play in delivering high-quality holistic care to patients with kidney diseases and presented global issues in nephrology nursing care, outlining strategies to address these challenges.

To honor nurses worldwide, the ISN KHPWG members presented first-hand accounts throughout the year:

Anemia in Dialysis Patients in Zanzibar

Henriette Tyse Nygård, RN, Dialysis nurse, Haukeland University Hospital, Norway; Dialysis nurse/teacher, MMH, Zanzibar, on the challenges of treating anemia in dialysis patients.

Considering Alternatives to Support Home Hemodialysis: The Benefits of Community Hemodialysis Houses

Rachael C Walker, NP Ph.D., Eastern Institute of Technology, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand, on the advantages of home dialysis to both patients and health systems as an alternative to in-hospital or in-center dialysis units.

Short Course on Peritoneal Dialysis Nursing – Vellore, India

Reena Rachel George, RN MSN, Professor, College of Nursing, and Nurse Manager, Dialysis Unit and Renal Transplant Unit, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India, on training registered nurses to provide peritoneal dialysis to patients with kidney failure.

Vascular Access Training for Nurses: Follow-up Visit to Educational Ambassadors Program in Kenya

Stefaan Claus, RN, Nephrology Division, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium, on setting up a program in Kenya to guide nurses in the practical implementation of their theoretical knowledge of vascular access.

Hemodialysis Laughter Therapy in Australia

Paul N Bennett, RN BN MHSM Ph.D., Research Director, Satellite Healthcare, California, USA and Associate Professor, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia, explains the science behind laughter therapy and its benefits on dialysis patient wellbeing.

In addition, the KHPWG members developed an infographic “Quick COVID-19 Reference Guide for Dialysis in Low Resource Settings,” available in multiple languages, in response to requested assistance from their colleagues in the early days of COVID-19.

Kidney Health Professionals Working Group Publishes Paper Encouraging Nursing Leadership

Rachael C Walker and Paul N Bennett, on behalf of the KHPWG, call attention to the urgent need to develop nephrology nursing leadership within low- and lower-middle-income countries to improve the management, safety, and quality of kidney care in their editorial letter published in the Renal Society of Australasia Journal 2020.

KHPWG is currently working with KDIGO to contribute global nursing perspectives on home dialysis barriers and enablers to the 2021 KDIGO Home Dialysis Controversies Conference.