Nurses' knowledge, attitude, and practice toward chronic kidney disease in hemodialysis centers at Hail City, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a significant global issue with clinical, social, and economic impacts. It negatively affects quality of life and is linked to higher rates of illness and death. Nurses are crucial in the early detection and management of CKD. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of nurses regarding CKD, and the factors influencing these aspects in hemodialysis centers in Hail City, Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional study was conducted from July to October 2022 using a self-administered questionnaire. This questionnaire assessed nurses’ knowledge of CKD, their attitudes toward it, and their CKD care practices. A significance level of p<0.05 was used for all tests. Approximately 63.06% of the nurses provided correct answers related to CKD knowledge. Most nurses (84.52%) had positive attitudes towards caring for CKD patients, and more than half (53.06%) had positive CKD care practices. There was a significant relationship between nurses’ knowledge scores and both “years of experience” and “received information regarding CKD care” (p=0.033 and p<0.001, respectively). Nurses with more experience and previous information had higher knowledge scores than those with less experience and no prior information. Additionally, nurses with more experience and previous information also had more positive attitudes toward CKD patients than those with less experience and no prior information (p=0.004 and p=0.008, respectively). Therefore, nurses with more experience and prior information about CKD care were more knowledgeable and had more positive attitudes towards CKD patients compared to those with less experience and no prior information.