The effect of educational intervention on the quality of life of family caregivers of hemodialysis patients: A randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Family caregivers of hemodialysis patients experience various physical, psychological, social, economic, and spiritual problems that reduce their quality of life. The present study aimed to determine the effect of a family-centered education program on the quality of life of family caregivers of patients undergoing hemodialysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a randomized controlled trial that was performed on 70 caregivers of patients undergoing hemodialysis in the medical centers of Hazrate Ali Asghar and Hazrate Zahraye Marzieh in Isfahan. Caregivers were randomly divided into experimental and control groups, and the experimental group received an eight-session family-centered education program. Data were collected using the Quality of Life Scale (QOLS)-short form immediately after and 1 month after the intervention. Data analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 18 and analysis of variance and covariance. RESULTS: The results showed that both experimental and control groups were homogeneous in terms of demographic information and there was no significant difference between them in this regard. Analysis of data on quality of life and its four domains showed that the mean scores of quality of life (P = 0.089) and its four domains including physical health (P = 0.367), mental health (P = 0.429), community relations (P = 0.132), and environmental health (P = 0.232) increased significantly immediately after and 1 month after the intervention (P < 0.001 in all cases). CONCLUSION: Educational programs can improve the quality of life of family caregivers of hemodialysis patients. Therefore, it is recommended that programs be developed and evaluated in various studies in the future.