• Chronic kidney disease affects 7.19 million people in the UK and its treatment can affect work, income and everyday costs
• The new project between Aston University and Kidney Wales will listen to people living with kidney disease and parents of young people affected
• The findings will help strengthen links between health, advice and wider support services.

A new research project launched by Kidney Wales and Aston University will explore how living with chronic kidney disease affects people’s financial wellbeing.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a long-term condition where the kidneys gradually work less well over time. This can lead to a build-up of waste and fluid in the body and affect overall health. An estimated 7.19 million people in the UK are affected, more than one in ten in the population.

For many people, kidney disease and its treatment can affect work, income and everyday costs, but there has been little research into how people with CKD experience these financial pressures.

The research collaboration will be led by Professor Shivani Sharma, bringing togther the Buisness School’s expertise in health inequalaities and healthcare management along with the Centre for Personal Financial Wellbeing’s (CPFW’s) focus on how people feel secure and in control of money day to day and in the future.

The project will explore how people of working age living with CKD, including parents of young people affected by the condition, experience and manage financial challenges. The aim is to use this evidence so that through health and wider services, targeted support can be improved.

The research questions have been shaped by patients and carers, so the project starts from the issues that matter most to people affected by CKD. Lived experience will continue to guide the work throughout, following the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) Thames Valley approach to patient and public involvement.

Professor Sharma said:

“Charities have long heard from people with CKD that financial strain often sits alongside health concerns. This research will bring those experiences together to understand what support people need, and how health and wider services can respond most effectively.”

Ross Evans, chief executive of Kidney Wales, said:

“We know from speaking to people across the kidney community in Wales that the financial impact of chronic kidney disease can be significant, affecting employment, household finances and day-to-day living. This research, with Aston University, is an important opportunity to better understand those experiences and identify how health services, charities and support organisations can work together to provide more effective support for people affected by CKD in the future.”