Abstract :
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a global threat to health in general and for developing countries in particular,
because therapy is expensive and life-long. It is considered as a devastating medical, social and economic
problem for patients and their families. The clinical manifestations of chronic kidney disease occur due to
overt metabolic derangements resulting from inability of failed kidney to regulate electrolyte, fluid and
acid-base balance as well as due to accumulation of toxic products of amino acid metabolism in the serum
which leads to various health problems such as: poor appetite, lassitude, pruritus, drowsiness, dyspnea,
bone and joint pain, dryness and ulceration in the mouth, muscle cramps, poor concentration, dry skin,
constipation and so on. As chronic kidney disease progress, these problems become worsened and lead to
anxiety, irritability and depression, thereby gradually deteriorating the quality of life. Such problems can
be curtailed in intensity and life of CKD patients can be improved if they are educated to practice various
nursing intervention strategies such as: dietary control, massaging, muscle relaxation techniques and
deep breathing exercises in addition to treatment. Hence the present study was undertaken to assess the
outcome of nursing intervention strategies on health problems such as: - oliguria, poor appetite, vomiting,
joint pain, breathlessness, muscle cramps, mouth ulceration, itching and irritability among chronic kidney
disease patients admitted in nephrology ward of a tertiary care hospital of Shere Kashmir Institute of Medical
Sciences, Soura Srinagar, Kashmir from 5th March 2012 to 31st July 2013. A quasi-experimental non-equivalent
two group pre-test post-test design was used to conduct study on 200 adult chronic kidney disease (CKD)
patients who were randomly selected and assigned to experimental and control groups (experimental = 100;
control = 100). The CKD patients in the experimental group received the ‘Nursing Intervention Strategies’
including: dietary advice, progressive muscle relaxation therapy, deep breathing exercises, leg massaging
therapy, leg elevation therapy and talk therapy, while as those in the control group received the routine
care. The findings revealed that the patients in experimental group, who received ‘Nursing intervention
strategies’ in addition to their treatment showed improvement due to substantial reduction (p ?0.05) in
all the 9 health problems (oliguria, poor appetite, vomiting, joint pain, breathlessness, muscle cramp,
mouth ulcer, itching and irritability). Whereas the control group subjects who received only routine care
and prescribed treatment reported a considerable reduction in 6 health problems (oliguria, poor appetite
Keyword :
Chronic kidney disease, Health problems, Nursing intervention strategies