Evaluation of the effect of blended learning on nutritional status and dialysis adequacy in hemodialysis patients

Today, one of the most serious problems of hemodialysis patients is poor nutrition, significantly affected by inadequate dialysis. Not only it is necessary to have sufficient knowledge in this area, but it is also important to find more effective educational methods in this regard. With this background in mind, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of blended learning on nutritional status and dialysis adequacy in hemodialysis patients.
This clinical trial was conducted on hemodialysis patients, referred to one of the hospitals of Shiraz, Iran in 2015. In total, 56 patients were selected through randomized convenience sampling and divided into two groups of intervention and control. Blended learning was provided for the participants of intervention group in the form of five group and individual sessions of 10-30 minutes during hemodialysis. The nutritional status and dialysis adequacy of all the participants were evaluated before, one month and two months after the intervention in the dialysis ward based on subjective global assessment and KT/V, respectively. Data analysis was performed in SPSS version 21 using Fisher’s exact test, independent t-test, repeated measures ANOVA, Chi-square and Cochran test.
In this study, the nutritional status of the participants was significantly improved one and two months after the intervention (P=0.0001). Moreover, mean score of dialysis adequacy was significantly increased in the intervention group from 1.21±0.27 to 1.35±0.28 after the intervention (P=0.007).
According to the results of this study, blended learning was associated with a significant improve in dialysis adequacy and nutritional status of hemodialysis patients. Therefore, it is recommended that this educational method be used in hemodialysis wards.