The Effects of Fluid Management Training Given to Hemodialysis Patients on Their Fluid Control Skills, Pre- and Post-Dialysis DryWeights and Quality of Life

ABS TRACT Objective: The study was conducted to assess the effect of fluid management training given to hemodialysis patients on their fluid control skills, pre-and post-dialysis dry weights and quality of life. Material and Methods: This experimental and cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the effect of fluid management training given to hemodialysis patients on their fluid control skills, preand post-dialysis dry weights and quality of life. The study involved 80 patients who underwent dialysis in the Hemodialysis Unit in 2016. Of them, 40 were assigned to the intervention group and 40 were assigned to the control group using the simple random sampling method. The Patient Information Form, the Fluid Control and the Short Form-36 Quality of Life Scale were used. The data collected were analyzed using the SPSS 22.0 package program. For the statistical analysis, the Chi-Square, Friedman’s test and Mann-Whitney U test were used. Results: Our result showed that the fluid intakes of the patients in the intervention group in the last two consecutive follow-ups decreased statistically significantly compared to their pre-observation fluid intakes, that there was a decrease in their pre-and postdialysis dry weights and that their quality of life increased as their fluid control improved. Conclusion: Fluid management training given to the hemodialysis patients positively affected their fluid control skills, pre-and post-dialysis dry weights and quality of life.