Effectiveness of a self-management program in enhancing quality of life, self-care, and self-efficacy in patients with hemodialysis: A quasi-experimental design

Background: Taiwan has the world's highest prevalence of end-stage kidney disease, as well as the world's third highest incidence. The study investigated the effectiveness of a self-management program for enhancing health-related quality of life, self-care behaviors, and self-efficacy in patients with end-stage kidney disease undergoing hemodialysis. Methods: This was a quasi-experimental design with convenient sampling, and allocated 32 participants in the control group (conventional program) and 32 participants in the experimental group (self-management program). The self-management program intervention lasted 4 weeks, and a posttest was administered 3 months later. The questionnaire included the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey, a Chronic Kidney Disease Self-Care Instrument, and a Chronic Kidney Disease Self-Efficacy Instrument. Results: Three months after the intervention, the self-management program had improved patients’ health-related quality of life in the mental health components (p <.001), but not in the physical health components. The program also promoted patients’ self-care behaviors (p <.001) and self-efficacy (p <.05). Conclusions: This study's findings confirmed that self-management programs should be promoted in clinical practice where they will provide clinical care personnel with an alternative to conventional health education.