Kidney Disease Research Updates
Winter 2007

NIDDK Feature

Controlling Phosphorus: More Than a Game for Dialysis Users

People receiving dialysis at the DaVita Dialysis Clinic in Vienna, VA, are taking to the “high seas” to control their serum phosphorus levels.

Each team’s ship, which has a unique name, is posted on a bulletin board with maps of North and South America. Teams earn or lose points based on their average phosphorus levels.To motivate people on dialysis to pay attention to this important health issue, the clinic launched “Phosphorus of the Seas,” a game that takes patients on a virtual “cruise” from San Francisco, around the tip of South America, to Miami.

“We’re using this game as motivation because high phosphorus is so bad for [patients’] bones,” said Tracey Wyatt, a renal dietitian at the clinic.

Participants are grouped into teams of seven to 10 people, with a nurse serving as ship “captain” on each of the 10 teams. Each team’s ship, which has a unique name, is posted on a bulletin board with a big map of North and South America in the middle, according to Wyatt. Teams earn or lose points based on their average phosphorus levels.

For example, a team with an average phosphorus level of 5.5 or below will earn 10,000 nautical miles. If the team’s monthly average exceeds recommended amounts due to excess fluid accumulation between dialysis treatments, team members will lose 1,000 miles.

Earning Prizes

Many of the players are enthusiastic about the game, which runs 3 months, said Wyatt. The winning team will receive prizes such as cookbooks, T-shirts, or picture frames.

Wyatt said the idea for the game came from a book called The Handbook of Creative Approaches to Patient Compliance: A Guide to Assist Renal Dietitians Working With Dialysis Patients.

Wyatt exchanges ideas for improving patient health with a dietitian from another clinic. “Once the game ends, we move on and find something else to motivate them,” said Wyatt. “We’re constantly brainstorming ideas for long-term motivators.”

NIH Publication No. 07–4531
March 2007

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