Assessing the Impact of Telenursing on Self-Care in Hemodialysis Patients: A Clinical Trial Study

Background: Hemodialysis (HD) treatment in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a long-term process, which cannot be sufficiently effective without the patient’s own involvement and self-care activities. Objectives: The aim of this study was to disclose the effect of telenursing on self-care behaviors of patients undergoing hemodialysis at Ali Ibn Abitalib Hospital, affiliated with Zahedan University of Medical Sciences in 2019. Methods: In this clinical trial, 80 HD patients were chosen via convenience sampling and randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire and an 18-item scale assessing HD patients’ self-care behaviors. The experimental group received a 12-week training program, which was held twice a week (each lasting 15 minutes). Follow-up was performed through phone calls during this period. On the other hand, the control group received only routine hospital instructions. The self-care questionnaire was completed before and 12 weeks after the intervention. The obtained data were analyzed in SPSS-22 using chi-square test, independent t-test, paired t-test, and ANCOVA. P values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 80 subjects completed the study. Except for age, the two groups were not significantly different in terms of demographic variables. The mean score of self-care before the intervention was 24.40 ± 14.73 in the experimental group and 19.45 ± 14.11 in the control group. After the intervention, this score changed to 48.65 ± 9.19 in the experimental group and 20.40 ± 13.46 in the control group, suggesting a significant difference in self-care between the two groups. Conclusions: Telenursing promotes self-care in HD patients. Thanks to the availability of telephone and the low cost of training for this method, health authorities/policymakers and nurses can deploy telenursing to cultivate self-care behaviors in these patients.