Effect of Instructional Guidelines on Nurses' Performance Regarding Care of Arteriovenous Fistula Puncture for Hemodialysis Children

Background: The arteriovenous fistula is recognized as the ideal and most commonly utilized technique of vascular access for hemodialysis, typically regarded as the optimum standard in clinical practice. Instructional programs are imperative for equipping nurses with the required skills to enhance patient outcomes and decrease overall health care expenses. Objectives: The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of instructional guidelines on nurses' performance regarding care of arteriovenous fistula puncture for hemodialysis children. Methods: The study design was quasi-experimental. At Beni-Suef University Hospital's pediatric hemodialysis unit, the study was carried out. A purposive sample composed of 50 nurses. Data were gathered utilizing two tools: The 1st tool is the interviewing questionnaire sheet. The 2nd tool is observational checklists. Results: More than three-quarters of nurses had an unsatisfactory total level of knowledge, and the majority of them had an incompetent total level of practice regarding arteriovenous fistula puncture care in the pre-instructional guidelines implementation. While most of the nurses had a satisfactory total level of knowledge, four-fifths of them had a competent total level of practice in the post-instructional guidelines' implementation with a highly statistically significant difference (p-value < 0.000). Also, there was a highly statistically significant positive correlation between nurses' total knowledge and total practice level pre- and post-implementation. Conclusion: The study findings confirmed the effectiveness of the instructional guidelines in improving nurses' knowledge and practices concerning arteriovenous fistula puncture care for hemodialysis children. Recommendation: Implementing periodical instructional programs for nurses concerning arteriovenous fistula puncture care is necessary to update and improve their performance.