Opportunity
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a significant and growing health problem, affecting around 10% of Australians; within the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District (ISLHD) prevalence is estimated at 9%, varying across suburbs from 4% to 24%. Indigenous populations experience substantially higher risk, with CKD-related mortality around four times that of non-Indigenous Australians. Dietary modification is central to CKD prevention and management, but access to dietetic support is limited; there is an urgent need for new, scalable ways to help people self-manage the complex renal diet. This digital health project will expand an existing mobile app by integrating responsible AI to better support dietary management—particularly for hyperphosphatemia, a common CKD complication linked to increased cardiovascular disease risk and overall morbidity and mortality. An expert stakeholder panel will use the nominal group technique to iteratively prioritise and develop improvements informed by the Telekinesis Study and published evidence, with the goal of strengthening consumer experience and engagement.
Project Objectives
- Enhance features of an existing co-designed app currently used by ISLHD patients in a 23-site Australian clinical trial (Telekinesis Study; ACTRN12621000746831).
- Improve the consumer app experience and increase engagement by expanding functionality and integrating responsible AI, creating a more comprehensive CKD self-management tool.
- Develop an improved digital care pathway for people with CKD that can be implemented across metropolitan, rural, and remote health services.
