Campus and education: an experience with PD patients

Every day patients on peritoneal dialysis (PD) must focus on their dialysis schedules and on nutritional and therapeutic prescriptions. Unfortunately, over time all these actions may not follow the initial protocol. In order to evaluate patient's knowledge and approach to dialysis, an alternative educational tool to hospital or home was investigated. The campus was utilised as a place for re-training and detecting and correcting discrepancies in knowledge and the management of techniques. A continuous educational programme involves some re-training of PD patients and this approach helps us to identify whether the treatment management at home is in accordance with the information given at the start of the dialysis, but there was a need to improve on this and to improve patient understanding and compliance. The campus was chosen as an alternative educational process with the aim of involving the patients themselves and their families to achieve additional benefits and long-term success of the therapy. This initiative, outside the hospital and in collaboration with professional figures not affiliated with the dialysis unit, hoped to offer patients new knowledge about: dialysis technique and procedures, prevention of infectious complications, nutrition and physical activity.