Effect of Self Care Education with and without Telephone Follow-Up on the Level of Hope in Renal Dialysis Patients: A Single-Blind Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

BACKGROUND Various strategies such as teaching self care to hemodialysis patients have been employed to increase the level of their hope. This study aimed at examining the effects of a telephone follow-up program on the level of hope in a self care education program. METHODS In this single-blind randomized controlled clinical trial, 75 hemodialysis patients, selected by convenient sampling, were randomly assigned to 3 groups (n=25 each) including a control, a self care education, or a self care education with telephone follow-up. The control group received the routine care. The self care education group received 5 instruction sessions. The telephone follow-up group had similar instructional sessions followed by telephone calls during the subsequent 2 months. Data, collected using demographic information list and Miller's hope questionnaire, were analyzed using Chi-Square, t-test, and one-way ANOVA followed by Scheffee test. RESULTS There was no significant difference among the scores of hope in the three groups before the intervention (P=0.40). However, after the intervention, the level of hope in the self care education group and self care education plus telephone follow-up groups were significantly higher than that of the control group (P=0.001). Moreover, the level of hope in the group with self care education plus telephone follow-up was significantly (P=0.001) more than that of the self care education group. CONCLUSION Our findings indicated that teaching followed by telephone follow-up was associated with higher levels of hope. Therefore, such a strategy may be employed to improve the quality of life of patients with renal dialysis. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER IRCT2014042617440N1.