NefroCenter explains kidney health to students in Caivano
They learned to measure blood pressure, to check their urine with a do-it-yourself kit, and they became aware of which foods are healthy and which are harmful for their bodies, and of the importance of drinking water in the right amounts. This was the result of a theoretical and practical session on education and prevention in kidney health among young people, offered to 120 students of the Istituto Superiore “Francesco Morano” in Parco Verde, Caivano (Napoli), as part of an educational event organized by the NefroCenter healthcare group on the occasion of World Kidney Day.
In Italy, more than 6 million people suffer from chronic kidney disease (CKD), but only 1 in 10 is aware of it: awareness and knowledge are therefore essential to avoid or slow down CKD, starting precisely with the youngest. So the healthcare group has decided to invest its professional resources, in the squares as well as in schools, starting from Caivano.
“It is important to raise awareness of kidney disease among the school population, promoting healthy lifestyles from adolescence onward – explained nephrologist Dr. Ersilia Satta, President of NefroCenter Research – the students were guided by a specialized medical and healthcare team from the group through a program aimed at fostering fundamental knowledge and promoting greater awareness of the risks of kidney disease.” The program began with an engaging interactive discussion with the students of the school, followed by a test assessing their initial level of knowledge on the subject. The students were then given the opportunity to take part in practical laboratory activities, learning to measure blood pressure and to perform do-it-yourself urine tests, in order to quickly and early identify any signs of kidney problems. “The students followed the presentation on good practices for preventing kidney disease very attentively – explained Dr. Lisa Scarpati, Medical Director of the Eurodial – NefroCenter Center in Napoli – and they became curious, asking the medical and nursing staff present many questions. They then carried out a practical session with our medical and nursing staff to learn how to measure blood pressure and at the same time how to do a do-it-yourself urine test, which is easy and inexpensive.”
For NefroCenter, Italy’s first private group specializing in nephrology, dialysis and diabetology, the event is an important opportunity for dialogue with, and active involvement of, young people in the area, to spread knowledge about kidney health and help them understand the essential role of prevention. A strategy fully shared by the school principal of the Istituto Morano, Eugenia Carfora. “School, justice and healthcare are important beacons of our society. Having them come into my school fills me with pride – added the school principal. Initiatives like these are most welcome, because we need a school open to all opportunities. I imagine that what was done this morning at school – she continued – will now become a reason for conversation at home. I am thinking, for instance, of one of my students who, when he gets home today, will ask his grandmother to let him measure her blood pressure.”
The founder of the NefroCenter Group, Giovanni Lombardi, also brought his greetings, and urged the young students to always use their brains and their hearts in everything they do, and to face life’s challenges with the right determination in order to bring their projects and dreams to completion.
