ASSESSING THE NEEDS AND LEARNING METHODS OF HEMODIALYSIS PATIENTS IN TEACHING HOSPITALS AFFILIATED TO URMIA UNIVERSITY MEDICAL SCIENCES

Due to the complexity of the process of hemodialysis and the need for patient participation in his health care, patient education should be considered as an important component of health promotion and disease management programs. Accordingly, education of hemodialysis patients should be based on each patient's specific needs and problems so that it can result in a change in their behavior. This study aimed to assess learning needs and preferred methods and educators of patients in hemodialysis centers in Urmia University of Medical Sciences.

This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on hemodialysis patients from teaching hospitals affiliated to Urmia Medical Sciences of University which were 420 individuals in total in 2014.The data were collected using a self-structured questionnaire that reliability of which had been measured by specialists and validity by internal consistency method (r =0.78). The collected data were analyzed by SPSS software descriptive statistics and analytical statistics (t-test and chi-square).

Most hemodialysis patients preferred to use handout-pamphlet, workshop, and oral conversation by nurses, doctors, and psychologists.The learning needs were ranked as follows: psychological issues (4.88), information about risk factors (4.75), lifestyle changes (4.62), diet information (4.56) and physical activity and sport (4.43).

The results of the study showed that hemodialysis patients need to learn about psychological problems, identifying risk factors, lifestyle, and nutrition. Psychological and nutritional recommendations can be offered along with clinical ones. Therefore, it seems necessary to provide a plan to standardize the structure and content of educational programs based on the learning needs of patients