Grant: Planning and Dissemination Grants - Institute/Initiative Community Support

Kidney disease affects many people in Canada, but Black communities often experience higher risk and worse outcomes due to inequities in access to care, racism in health systems, and broader social and structural factors. These experiences can also differ depending on factors such as sex, gender, age, and life circumstances. Despite this, Black communities are often underrepresented in shaping kidney health research priorities and how knowledge is shared. This initiative will bring together Black patients, caregivers, community organizations, clinicians, researchers, trainees, and health system partners from across Canada to establish the Black Research Council for Kidney Disease (BRC-KD). The goal is to jointly identify priority areas in Black kidney health research and develop more culturally relevant ways of sharing knowledge with communities and health systems. This initiative includes three activities. First, we will review existing research, programs, and engagement approaches in Black kidney health, including lessons from other health areas affecting Black communities, to identify promising approaches. Second, we will co-develop the structure of the BRC-KD through collaborative planning sessions that define how the Council will operate and make decisions. Third, we will hold an in-person workshop in Toronto where council members and community partners will work together to identify the most important kidney health priorities and the best ways to share information with Black communities in ways that are clear, relevant, and accessible, recognizing that experiences may differ based on sex, gender, and other life circumstances. Overall, this initiative will strengthen partnerships between patients, families, communities, researchers, and health system partners, and support more equitable and inclusive kidney health research in Canada for Black communities