Effect of Multidimensional Educational Interventions Among Dialysis Patients

Patient education is associated with better patient outcomes and supported by international guidelines and organizations like KDIGO, DOQI, CDC, DA vita that provide essential resources for patient information across the spectrum of kidney disease but a range of barriers prevent widespread implementation of comprehensive education for people with progressive kidney disease. It is not only of prime importance to have an adequate number of nephrologists only but also of equal importance to have a multidisciplinary team of renal dietician, renal nurses, social worker, clinical psychologist and pharmacist to improve patient’s knowledge about disease management and treatment options.

This review paper aims at reviewing the effects of various educational interventions among maintenance hemodialysis patients. There are substantial systematic reviews and narrative reviews on the effect of predialyis education, however evidence on the effectiveness of education intervention among end stage renal failure patients on maintenance dialysis needs compilation and extensive research of its effect on various patient outcomes. This review aims to compile evidence on effective components of dialysis education programs on patient related outcomes. PubMed Medline, Cochrane Library with the main search terms of “hemodialysis ”, “maintenance dialysis”, “multidisciplinary ”, “interdisciplinary “, “education”, “information”, and “decision” were performed.