Learning Objective #1: Learn the program implemented for clients with chronic renal failure

Learning Objective #2: Learn the outcomes of health education for clients with chronic renal failure

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Renal disease is one of the leading causes of death in Taiwan. The progress of chronic renal failure is irreversible. It may lead to the need for dialysis treatment and cause devastating problems for patients and their families. In order to promote the quality of life for patients with this disease and contain the health care costs, many authors have suggested that care for the patients with chronic renal failure requires early interventions on multidisciplinary pre-dialysis care. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigating the outcomes of early intervention and regular follow-up for clients with chronic renal failure.

This study was a longitudinal study on evaluation on health education and regular follow up for patients with chronic renal disease. The investigator developed a multidisciplinary pre-dialysis care program. Sixty seven participants were recruited from health screen activities in outpatient clinics. Outcomes data, including the physiological indexes and knowledge on self care of reserve the renal function, were collected. The results indicated that renal function did not show the significant difference for three month and six month follow up . The knowledge of the participants revealed no difference for the same period of time after giving the health education program. This indicated that the effect of the education program lasted for at least six months. The information for this study would serve as indexes for nursing professional and policy makers for further considerations to improve the care for chronic illness patients.