Abstract

LUCAS MARTIN ESPEJO, Jesús  and  CIRERA SEGURA, Francisco. Nursing knowledge as an instrument for the promotion of peritoneal dialysis. Rev Soc Esp Enferm Nefrol [online]. 2011, vol.14, n.1, pp.7-13. ISSN 1139-1375.

Although it is proven that peritoneal dialysis, like haemodialysis, is an option for treating Terminal Chronic Renal Disease, it is used less. There has been considerable debate on the possible causes of its limited development in Spain, and it has been suggested that the lack of promotion of peritoneal dialysis may be due to the fact that both doctors and nurses have insufficient information or training on this treatment option. We set ourselves the aim of identifying the degree of knowledge that Nursing staff have of peritoneal dialysis, in order to take the necessary measures to promote this treatment and good practice. The sample was made up of a total of 66 nurses. To identify Nursing staff's degree of knowledge of peritoneal dialysis, a questionnaire was designed. As a result we found that only 57.6% knew how to change a bag and 30.3% recognized how to handle a cycler. More than 86.4% knew how to recognize the symptoms of infection at the insertion point and peritoneal infection, but 55% would not know how to act in response to the most frequent complications in peritoneal dialysis. We have found that the general degree of knowledge of peritoneal dialysis is limited. We think that this can influence the promotion of and good practice in peritoneal dialysis, although 69.2% think that the results of this type of treatment for a standard patient are equal to or better than with haemodialysis.

Keywords : Knowledge; Instrument; Peritoneal dialysis; Training.

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