King’s nurse recognised at the BJN Awards
25 April 2024 - Roseline Agyekum, Community Kidney Nurse Researcher at King's, wins the bronze award in the Renal Nurse of the Year category at this year's British Journal of Nursing (BJN) awards.
Congratulations to Roseline Agyekum, Community Kidney Nurse Researcher at King’s, on winning the bronze award in the Renal Nurse of the Year category at this year’s British Journal of Nursing (BJN) awards.
Roseline was recognised for her work on the HIDDEN-CKD project. Funded by the charity, Kidney Research UK, HIDDEN-CKD provides community kidney screening to people from African and Afro Caribbean backgrounds to reduce kidney health inequalities within the ethnic community in South East London.
Roseline visits community centres, churches and mosques to provide basic health checks such as weight, height and blood pressure and then checks participants’ kidney health via a urine sample.
Since the project started in October 2022, over 1,500 people have taken part and Roseline has referred over 100 people for follow-up investigations with their GP. Eight people with early-stage and three with late-stage chronic kidney disease (CKD) have been identified so far.
Roseline said of the project: “People from ethnic minority backgrounds do not routinely engage in health interventions due to multiple factors such as limited trust in the healthcare services, work pressures, etc. So we decided to go to them instead, ‘Taking the NHS into the Community’.
“During the checks, we monitor participants’ weight, height and blood pressure and then we check urine for early changes which could indicate signs of kidney disease.
“We have found several people who have now been diagnosed with hypertension and diabetes, and they wouldn’t have known this if it wasn’t for community screening.”
Roseline follows up with patients she has screened to try and help them best manage their condition, looking at medication, exercise and changes to their diet, which she explains is the most time-consuming part of the project. However, that’s what she enjoys most, empowering individuals to self-manage and thereby reduce their risk of kidney disease.
“Most African and Afro Caribbean people would want to change their dietary styles without having to forego native foods. What I do is I look at their native foods and what they eat, and I empower them to make the appropriate options whilst still cooking tasty meals. This means that people are still able to enjoy their favourite native foods. Many people consider food as part of their culture.”
Speaking on receiving the award, Roseline said “I’m very proud to have received the bronze award but for me it is not about which award I receive, it was more about the recognition, and to all Faith and non-Faith leaders who engaged with us, our patients, who shared their lived stories and the Community Kidney Ambassadors and collaborators, whose continued commitment contributes towards the success of HIDDEN-CKD.
“I’m really enjoying this project and community work is very close to my heart. I look forward to training more community Kidney Champions and supporting more people with kidney disease.”
Dr Kate Bramham, Consultant Nephrologist at King’s, added: “We are all really proud of Roseline and her work.
“Roseline thoroughly deserves this recognition and her dedication and commitment to working in the community is clear for everybody to see. This is a fantastic achievement. Congratulations Roseline.”