Adherence to dialysis diet restrictions is a significant problem for healthcare systems today. Many patients report that adherence with dietary restriction is the most difficult part of the treatment regimen because it affects food preference and alters lifestyles. Not adhering to suggested diet restrictions can result in unwanted complications and costly medical care for dialysis patients. Education regarding dietary needs is an essential aspect of nursing care for renal dialysis patients. Teaching patients according to their individual learning styles means providing information based on the way in which a given person learns best with the result of optimizing understanding of and adherence to dietary guidelines. This project compares the dominant learning style of patients starting hemodialysis with the educational materials and instructions they are currently receiving. Four to eight patients who are beginning hemodialysis in a small community hospital will complete the VARK Learning Assessment and will be surveyed about their perceptions of their preparation for diet guidelines and their likelihood of adherence. The nursing staff and dietician for the dialysis unit will be interviewed to obtain information on the patient education that is provided to new hemodialysis patients. The data analysis will involve categorizing the patient education materials and educational strategies according to targeted learning style, comparing those categories with the learning styles of new hemodialysis patients and the patients’ perceptions of preparation and their likelihood of adhering to their dietary guidelines. Thorough, well designed, individualized patient education is necessary for the new hemodialysis patient at this time of life-threatening changes which resulted in the need for dialysis and of high impact lifestyle changes to support the therapeutic regimen.
Session #1222 - Undergraduate Submissions
The 29th Annual MNRS Research Conference (April 1-4, 2005)