Attitudes of Nephrology Nurses Toward Patient Exercise During Hemodialysis

Exercise programs are rare in hemodialysis clinics. The study goals were to 1) explore nephrology nurses' attitudes toward exercise; 2) compare the attitudes between nephrology nurses who had been exposed and those who had not been exposed to an patient exercise program; and 3) measure the psychometric properties of a survey tool to measure nephrology nurses' attitudes toward intradialytic exercise. Nephrology nurse attitudes were positive toward patients' exercising; however, they did not believe it was their responsibility to conduct the exercise program. Nephrology nurses who had not seen patients exercising during dialysis were more likely to perceive exercise barriers. This study developed a valid and clinically useful 16-item instrument to measure nephrology nurses' attitudes about patient exercise in four areas: patient benefits, patient barriers, nurse barriers, and health professional enablers.