Predictors of Self-Management Behaviors After Discharge Among Unplanned Dialysis Patients

Patients with unplanned dialysis must perform self-management behaviors to maintain their health in the community after discharge. Understanding the factors that predict the postdischarge self-management behaviors of patients with unplanned dialysis can assist nurses to implement appropriate discharge plans for this population.

This study was designed to predict the effects of uncertainty in illness, self-care knowledge, and social-support-related needs during hospitalization on the self-management behaviors of patients with unplanned dialysis during their first 3 months after discharge from the hospital.

One hundred sixty-nine patients with unplanned dialysis from the nephrology department of a medical center in Taiwan were enrolled in this prospective study using convenience sampling. At hospital admission, demographic, uncertainty in illness, self-care knowledge, and social support information was collected using a structured questionnaire. Information on self-management behavior was collected at 3 months postdischarge when the patients visited outpatient clinics.

Hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed that self-care knowledge, uncertainty in illness, and social support were important predictors of self-management behaviors at 3 months postdischarge, explaining 65.6% of the total variance in self-management behaviors. Social support increased the variance in self-management behaviors by 27.9%.

Comprehensive discharge planning to improve the postdischarge self-management behaviors of patients with unplanned dialysis should involve interventions to improve self-care knowledge, reduce uncertainty in illness, and increase social support. Building social support should be given priority attention.