Effect of self-care intervention for controlling interdialytic weight gain among patients on haemodialysis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: This study aims to identify the combined effects of self-care or self-management nursing interventions on primary (interdialytic weight gain) and secondary (potassium, phosphorous, self-care and self-efficacy) outcomes in haemodialysis patients with chronic kidney disease.

Background: Prior systematic reviews and meta-analyses revealed inconclusive evidence regarding the effects of self-care or self-management nursing interventions among the patients on haemodialysis. Also, insufficient or unclear descriptions of methods resulted in weak empirical evidence of such effects.

Methods: Systematic review and meta-analysis were used. Methods: Four databases were searched to identify 36 articles published from 2000 to 2020. Keywords were selected according to the Population Intervention Comparison Outcome format using MeSH terms and text words. The meta-analysis involved synthesis of effect size, tests of homogeneity and heterogeneity, and funnel plot, Egger's regression test, and Begg's test for assessing publication bias. This study was performed based on the Guidelines of Systematic Reporting of Examination presented in the PRISMA checklist (Appendix S1) and the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. The search protocol has been registered at the PROSPERO International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews.

Results: The overall effect on interdialytic weight gain was -0.26, suggesting a small effect size, with the interdialytic weight gain after nursing interventions decreasing significantly. Among the type of nursing interventions, the overall effect on interdialytic weight gain of education programmes and fluid and sodium control programmes was -0.36 and 0.25, respectively, a small effect size, and was statistically significant.

Conclusions: Based on the results of this study, healthcare professionals may encourage the patients on haemodialysis to engage in self-directed management of their symptoms, such as health contract, and promote health literacy through improving their self-efficacy. Conclusions: This meta-analysis could provide fundamental data to assist with the development of an evidence-based practice guideline.