About one in six kidney dialysis patients in the United States doesn't understand health information that's important for their well-being, according to a new study appearing in this month's issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJSAN).
Patients with limited health literacy - the ability to obtain, process, and understand health information in order to make appropriate health decisions - may not fully understand written medical information, may not be able to communicate effectively with health care providers, or navigate the difficult health care system.
Health literacy is particularly important for kidney patients undergoing dialysis. They must attend treatment sessions several days a week, follow dietary and fluid restrictions, and stick to difficult medication plans, all of which require patients to understand and act on complicated health related information.
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For at least 170 dialysis patients in Tagajo, Miyagi, an area of the tsunami ravaged Japan, the kindness of strangers hasn't just meant new clothes and hot meals; it's meant survival itself, in the form of four buses to ferry them to hospitals for treatment.
tings shows clinics that deliver dialysis to inner-city patients, many of whom live below the poverty level, are performing just as well as other clinics nationwide. 
