Development and evaluation of a training program for dialysis nurses – an intervention study

BACKGROUND: A dialysis nurse’s work is complex and demanding. Based on the results of a systematic review and a survey study, we developed a health-promoting intervention for dialysis nurses. The aim of this study is to evaluate this intervention. METHODS: Before the intervention, the dialysis facilities were surveyed, and an analysis workshop was conducted. The intervention incorporated activities at the individual and organizational levels and included three half-day training sessions for dialysis nurses. The evaluation was based on pre-post-follow-up data from the intervention group (N = 33) and pre-post data from the control group (N = 44) gathered using validated scales. The measurement of change was conducted using repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) and t-tests. RESULTS: In the intervention group, we found small to medium effect sizes for all measures. However, only sense of community and burnout improved significantly between the pre- and post-tests. Compared to the control group, sense of community increased significantly only in the intervention group. This strengthens the result that the intervention had a particular effect on enhancing the sense of community. CONCLUSIONS: The systematically developed intervention for dialysis nurses offers a promising approach for workplace health promotion in the dialysis setting.