3C Institute and investigators at UNC School of Medicine have been awarded Phase II SBIR funding from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) to develop My Kidney Guru, a self-paced, adaptive education e-learning program to meet the needs of adolescents with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The aim of the fully developed program is to increase treatment adherence and improve self-management skills in adolescents with kidney disease.
My Kidney Guru combines the medical expertise of Dr. Maria Ferris, UNC School of Medicine, with 3C Institute’s experience creating state-of-the-art, personalized, interactive e-training programs. In addition to addressing attention, engagement, and motivational barriers to adolescents’ understanding and self-managing of their kidney disease, My Kidney Guru leverages video modeling of self-management skills and interactive personalized tools to increase adoption and effective use of those skills and strategies, including virtual simulations for active practice, self-reflection, and personalized feedback on comprehension and application of those skills (all features of the DeLP online learning platform).
Development will be guided by an iterative development process informed by focus groups and preliminary testing. The preliminary efficacy of the final product will be evaluated through a single arm clinical trial.