American Kidney Fund Expands Kidney Health Coach Program with Educational Course on Lupus Nephritis
Course will educate participants about symptoms, testing, diagnosis and treatment for lupus nephritis
ROCKVILLE, Md., July 16, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The American Kidney Fund (AKF) has launched an online course on lupus nephritis through its Kidney Health Coach® (KHC) program to educate community members and healthcare professionals about symptoms, testing, diagnosis, treatment and support for people living with lupus nephritis, an autoimmune disease that can lead to permanent kidney damage.
The course content, developed in consultation with AKF’s subject matter expert planning committee, focuses on:
- Recognizing signs and symptoms of lupus nephritis
- Promoting conversations between patients, caregivers and their care team
- Understanding what appropriate testing and diagnosis looks like
- Navigating treatment options to manage kidney damage due to lupus nephritis
By adding a lupus nephritis course to the KHC curriculum, AKF is expanding its kidney health educational offerings to communities nationwide and focusing on broader risk factors for kidney disease. Through the course, AKF aims to empower its Kidney Health Coaches with the knowledge and tools they need to educate others about how to live well with lupus nephritis. There are more than 8,000 AKF Kidney Health Coaches who volunteer in all 50 states to provide health education in their communities.
As part of the new lupus nephritis resources, AKF provides coaches with a community presentation on lupus nephritis that they can share during educational sessions and events. This KHC: Looped In On Lupus Nephritis community presentation is made possible with support from GSK.
An estimated 1.5 million Americans have a type of lupus and about one in two adults with the condition have lupus nephritis.
The two main risk factors for lupus nephritis are:
- Sex—90% of lupus patients identify as female, but men have a higher chance of getting lupus nephritis than females
- Race and ethnicity—racial/ethnic minorities such as Black Americans, Hispanic/Latino Americans and Asian Americans are more likely to get lupus nephritis
“With the wide range of kidney diseases and their underlying causes, comprehensive, accessible education is critical,” said LaVarne A. Burton, AKF President and CEO. “This new lupus nephritis course empowers AKF’s Kidney Health Coaches with the foundational knowledge they need to confidently educate people in their communities, helping to drive better health outcomes.”
Approximately 1 in 7 American adults has kidney disease and millions more are at risk for this life-altering condition, which is now the ninth leading cause of death worldwide. Kidney disease has no cure and is known as a silent killer because it often is not detected until the later stages, when symptoms become more noticeable and severe. Although damage to the kidneys cannot be reversed, there are steps people can take to slow down the progression if kidney disease is caught early, highlighting the importance of early detection.
KHC is a key component of AKF’s prevention and early detection education efforts. People interested in becoming a Kidney Health Coach complete a two-hour online training course and, upon completion, receive access to educational resources, such as fact sheets and community PowerPoint presentations, along with the ongoing ability to meet and communicate with other coaches and AKF staff.
More information on the Kidney Health Coach program can be found here.
About the American Kidney Fund
The American Kidney Fund (AKF) fights kidney disease on all fronts as the nonprofit with the greatest direct impact on people with kidney disease. AKF works on behalf of the 1 in 7 American adults living with kidney disease, and the millions more at risk, with an unmatched scope of programs that support people wherever they are in their fight against kidney disease—from prevention through post-transplant living. AKF fights for kidney health for all through programs that address early detection, disease management, financial assistance, clinical research, innovation and advocacy. AKF is one of the nation’s top-rated nonprofits, investing 96 cents of every donated dollar in programs, and it has received 24 consecutive 4-star ratings from Charity Navigator as well as the Platinum Seal of Transparency from Candid, formerly known as GuideStar.
For more information, please visit KidneyFund.org, or connect with AKF on Facebook, Bluesky, X, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Nancy Gregory American Kidney Fund (240) 292-7077 ngregory@kidneyfund.org
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