Virtual Nephrologist

NCT ID: NCT06841016

Last Updated: 2026-01-12

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 148 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2024-03-26
• Study Completion Date: 2025-12-31

Brief Summary

To develop, pilot, and refine a virtual healthcare agent that will educate patients with advanced chronic kidney disease and their caregivers about kidney transplantation.

Detailed Description

Over 35 million Americans endure the burdens of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Black Americans face particularly high rates of CKD due to environmental and genetic factors, including systemic racism and inadequate access to specialty providers and effective therapies. The optimal management of advanced CKD poses many challenges for patients, especially those with low health literacy, because of the complexity of medical management and treatment options. For many patients with advanced CKD, pursuing kidney transplantation has major advantages. Compared to chronic dialysis, kidney transplantation improves quality of life and length of life, and offers greater capacity to participate in important activities such as employment. Unfortunately, many patients do not gain sufficient information about kidney transplant or have misconceptions and fears about transplant. This knowledge gap exists in part because many patients have limited access to nephrology care and due to time constraints and ineffective education during nephrology visits. New media technologies can address this need by enabling patients to interact with a virtual health care assistant that both empowers patients to direct the communication toward their own information needs and communicates with patients using language and norms that are comfortable. The study team will develop a virtual healthcare assistant to interact with, educate and counsel patients and their caregivers about kidney transplantation. The tool will provide content developed by the National Kidney Foundation, the leading patient-facing organization focused on kidney disease. Informed by patient partnerships, the tool will address in particular the needs and concerns of Black Americans with kidney disease.

Conditions

Chronic Kidney Disease(CKD)

Study Design

• Allocation Method: NA
• Intervention Model: SINGLE_GROUP
• Primary Study Purpose: DIAGNOSTIC
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Virtual Nephrologist

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Virtual Nephrologist

Intervention Type: OTHER

Quality improvement (QI) pilot of an interactive, conversational virtual healthcare agent to educate and engage patients with advanced CKD about transplantation

Interventions

Virtual Nephrologist

Quality improvement (QI) pilot of an interactive, conversational virtual healthcare agent to educate and engage patients with advanced CKD about transplantation

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• 18 y/o able to provide consent
• Advanced CKD
• English speaking
• Penn Medicine patient

Exclusion Criteria

• Vulnerable populations

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

University of Florida

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Vanderbilt University Medical Center

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

University of Pennsylvania

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Locations

Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Nashville, Tennessee, United States

Countries

United States

Other Identifiers

855462

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id