The effect of Orem's self-care model on activities of daily living in hemodialysis patients: A quasi-experimental study

One of the most important problems of patients undergoing hemodialysis is functional limitations and decrease in activities of daily living. Orem’s self-care theory improves quality of life in patients with chronic diseases. This study aimed to investigate the effect of using Orem’s self-care model on daily activities of patients undergoing hemodialysis.

This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 34 hemodialysis patients who were selected by random allocation in two intervention and control groups in the hemodialysis ward at Shahid Motahhari hospital in Jahrom in 2022. The intervention consisted of 6 sessions of self-care training for patients in the intervention group for 6 weeks individually. Then immediately and two months after the intervention, the daily life activities of the patients were evaluated. Data were analyzed by SPSS-21 software using descriptive statistics, Friedman test, Mann-Whitney, t-test, and chi-square.

The immediately and two months after the intervention, the mean of activities of daily living in the intervention group was higher than the control group (P = 0.009). In general, the mean of activities of daily living in the intervention group did not change significantly over time (P> 0.05). In the control group, there was a significant decrease in the level of activities of daily living (P <0.05).

The results of this study indicate the positive effect of Orem’s self-care model on the daily activities of patients undergoing hemodialysis.