The effect of empowerment program on empowerment level and self‑care self‑efficacy of patients on hemodialysis treatment

Background: Patients with end‑stage renal disease (ESRD) who receive dialysis confront the burdens of long‑term illness and numerous physical problems. Materials and Methods: This was a quasi‑experimental study. The selected patients from Gorgan Dialysis Centre were randomly assigned into an empowerment group (n = 40) and a control group (n = 40). Instruments comprised scales of Empowerment and the Strategies Used by People to Promote Health (SUPPH). Data were collected at baseline and at 6 weeks following the intervention. The data were analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics through SPSS (version 17). Results: The results indicate that scores of the empowerment (P ≤ 0.001) and self‑care self‑efficacy (P = 0.003) in the empowerment group showed a significantly greater improvement than the control group. Conclusions: The study supports the effectiveness of the empowerment program to promote empowerment level and self‑care self‑efficacy of hemodialysis patients.