Understanding Risk Factors for Progressive Chronic Kidney Disease in Malawi

Worldwide, the number of people living with long-term health conditions, including chronic kidney disease (CKD), is increasing. CKD is usually asymptomatic in early stages but can progress to advanced disease, including kidney failure, causing significant morbidity and mortality. In low-income countries of sub-Saharan Africa, including Malawi, treatments for kidney failure are not yet widely available and are prohibitively expensive . It is therefore vital to: (a) Prevent development of CKD in the first place (b) Detect CKD earlier so that more cost-effective treatments can be given to slow progression. There is little evidence on factors that drive CKD progression in Malawi, or on interventions that may be cost-effective for improving detection and slowing disease progression in this setting. This PhD will address these knowledge gaps, through the following aims: 1\) Determine the mortality associated with CKD, and the risk factors driving its development and progression in Malawian adults 2) Investigate the impacts of different models for integrating screening and prevention strategies for CKD and its risk factors into health services for other long-term conditions in low- and middle-income countries 3) With patients, carers, healthcare workers and policy makers, evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of different potential models for integrating CKD screening and prevention strategies into health services for high-risk patient groups in Malawi