Toward Equitable Kidney Care: Insights from the Survey Among Polish Doctors on the Women’s Health in Chronic Kidney Disease Management

Sep 30, 2026

Chronic kidney disease is more prevalent among women and remains marked by disparities in how female patients receive care. A three-part survey assessed Polish physicians’ clinical experience and education needs for reproductive, sex, and sex- and gender-related health problems in chronic kidney disease management. Among 116 respondents, most were women and practiced in multispecialty hospitals. Although nearly all managed CKD, caring for pregnant women was far less common, experience was limited, and residency teaching gaps were reported. Over 90% supported integrating reproductive planning and interdisciplinary care into nephrology education via guidance and training formats.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages19

Reading Time48 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

1. Introduction

Epidemiology and gender disparities in CKD

Sociocultural influences and barriers to equitable care

Need for sex-specific disease management

Article Toward Equitable Kidney Care: Insights from the Survey Among Polish Doctors on the Women’s Health in Chronic Kidney Disease Management Weronika Przybyszewska 1,2, Karol Gawalski 2,3,4, Barbara Bijak 1, Aleksandra Rymarz 1 and Jolanta Małyszko 1, * Academic Editor: Jonathan Townend Received: 27 November 2025 Revised: 21 December 2025 Accepted: 24 December 2025 Published: 26 December 2025 Copyright: © 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. 1 Department of Nephrology, Dialysis and Internal Medicine, Medical University of Warsaw, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland; [weronika.przybyszewska@wum.edu.pl](weronika.przybyszewska@wum.edu.pl) (W.P.); [s083707@student.wum.edu.pl](s083707@student.wum.edu.pl) (B.B.); [aleksandra.rymarz@wum.edu.pl](aleksandra.rymarz@wum.edu.pl) (A.R.) 2 Doctoral School, Medical University of Warsaw, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland; [karol.gawalski@wum.edu.pl](karol.gawalski@wum.edu.pl) [3](3 Department of Pathology)[ Department of Pathology](3 Department of Pathology), [Military Institute of Medicine](Military Institute of Medicine), [04-141 Warsaw](04-141 Warsaw), [Poland](Poland) [4](4 Laboratory of Experimental Medicine)[ Laboratory of Experimental Medicine](4 Laboratory of Experimental Medicine), [Medical University of Warsaw](Medical University of Warsaw), [02-097 Warsaw](02-097 Warsaw), [Poland](Poland) * [Correspondence: jolanta.malyszko@wum.edu.pl](Correspondence: jolanta.malyszko@wum.edu.pl) Abstract Background/Objectives: Chronic kidney disease is more prevalent among women, and there are significant disparities in the management of female patients. Our study aimed to assess the clinical experience and educational needs of physicians in the treatment of reproductive and sex and gender-related health problems in patients with CKD. Methods: The three-part survey was distributed among nephrologists and other internal medicine specialists in Poland, both online and in paper form. Results: A total of 116 physicians participated in the survey, including 81 nephrologists. Most respondents (64.7%) were female and practiced in multispecialty hospitals (72.4%) . While 97.4% managed patients with CKD, only 37.9% reported caring for pregnant women. Experience in sex-specific and pregnancy-related issues was limited—56.9% reported low or minimal experience in managing CKD during pregnancy. Residency training lacked coverage of crucial topics, with 66.2% reporting limited teaching on sex-related CKD progression. Over 90% supported integrating reproductive planning and interdisciplinary care into nephrology, favoring guidelines, conferences, and webinars for education. Conclusions: Our study has highlighted a critical discrepancy between the importance of sex-specific and reproductive health considerations in the management of CKD and the current level of clinical experience among Polish doctors. Keywords: chronic kidney disease; nephrology care; women’s health; nephrology education; pregnancy and CKD; gender-related health problems 1. Introduction Over the last decades, we have been observing a significant increase of about 29.3% in the prevalence and 41.5% in mortality of chronic kidney disease (CKD) [1] . May 2025 marks an important milestone for the entire nephrology society as the WHO (World Health Organization) prioritized CKD within the WHO’s noncommunicable diseases (NCD) agenda [2,3] . This historic declaration raises awareness about the burden of kidney diseases, promotes early detection, and motivates actions to guarantee equitable access to care for patients in all communities [4] . According to epidemiological data, CKD is more prevalent among women than men [5] . However, compared to male patients, women are more likely to be offered dialysis at lower estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) levels, are less frequently incl

FAQs

What was the study’s main objective?

To assess physicians’ clinical experience and educational needs regarding reproductive and sex- and gender-related health problems in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

How many physicians participated, and what specialties did they represent?

A total of 116 physicians participated, including 81 nephrologists, recruited via a three-part survey distributed online and on paper.

What educational gaps were identified and what solutions did respondents support?

Respondents reported limited coverage of sex-related CKD progression during residency training, and over 90% supported integrating reproductive planning and interdisciplinary care into nephrology education through guidelines, conferences, and webinars.

Sep 30, 2026

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