Nursing guidelines to improve sexual function and quality of life among women undergoing hemodialysis

Design: An intervention design was used.

Methods: A purposive sample of 50 women (25 women from the dialysis unit at Elahrar hospital, and 25 women from the dialysis unit at Zagazig university hospitals). To collect data we used the structured interviewing questionnaire, the Index of Female Sexual Function (IFSF), to assess sexual function, the 36-item Short Form Health Survey Questionnaire to measure the impact of hemodialysis on women’s quality of life, and Arabic instructional guidelines on pelvic floor exercises to improve sexual relations and quality of life.

Results: The mean score of the sexual function index was less than 25, indicating negative female sexual dysfunction among these patients. Moreover, the mean score of Quality of Life (QoL) was less than 50, indicating negative health effects related to quality of life. There were positive relationships between total FSFI score and total SF-36 score after implementation of the nursing guidelines.

Conclusion: There was an improvement in sexual function and quality of life among women with hemodialysis.