The Effect of Telephone Follow up (Tele-nursing) on Fatigue in the Elderly Undergoing Hemodialysis

Fatigue is one of the most common complications in hemodialysis patients, which affects their physical, psychological, emotional and cognitive status. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of tele-nursing on fatigue in the elderly undergoing hemodialysis. This quasi-experimental study was performed on 60 elderly patients undergoing hemodialysis. Samples were firstly selected by available sampling method according to sample characteristics and were then randomly divided into two groups of test and control. The data were collected by Fatigue Questionnaire in two stages before and after the intervention. Data were analyzed by SPSS software version 24 using descriptive and analytical statistical tests. The mean age of participants was 73.43 ± 7.87 years. According to the findings, 76.7% of the control group and 70% of the test group had severe fatigue before intervention. This amount reached 43.3% in the control group and zero in the test group after the intervention. The mean of the fatigue score before the intervention in the test and control group was 7.39 ± 0.96 and 7.64 ± 1.79, respectively. After the intervention was carried this score changed to 3.15 ± 1.26 and 6.25 ±1.25. Based on t-test, there was a significant difference between the mean of fatigue scores in the elderly patients undergoing hemodialysis before and after the intervention in the test and control groups (p<0/05). Tele- nursing has been effective in reducing the amount and severity of fatigue in the elderly undergoing hemodialysis. Therefore, it is recommended that nurses use this method as a non-drug intervention to reduce fatigue in the elderly undergoing hemodialysis.