Development of a New Smartphone Application to Increase Dietary Compliance in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease

Abstract

Aim: Nutritional therapy in chronic kidney disease (CKD) requires certain regulations in the diet of the patients. Patients’ self-management becomes possible with the development of mobile phones and their software. In the current study, a smartphone application that could be used to increase dietary compliance of CKD stage 4-5 and hemodialysis patients was developed. It is aimed that patients can control the dietary intake of energy, protein, sodium, potassium, phosphorus, and fluid by using the developed mobile application.
 Subjects and Method: The mobile application has been developed by the researchers until the final control and test phase. Later, the final control and test phase of the developed application were carried out by 5 expert dietitians, 5 specialist doctors, and 5 hemodialysis patients.
 Results: The majority of the participants stated that the application was easy to use, interesting, visually well designed, contains sufficient reliable information, and that they can recommend it to other patients. Participants who examined the application also offered suggestions about the application.
 Conclusion: The application was updated according to the evaluations and suggestions of the participants. The final application was formed to be ready for the use of the patients.

The effect of video‐based fistula care education on hemodialysis patients' self‐care behaviors: A randomized controlled study

“…Topics: The training content prepared in line with the literature [4,13,16] included fistula follow-up, fistula care, conditions to be considered at home, the effect of excess fluid intake on the fistula, and what to do about fistula control.…”

“…Topics: Video recordings of fistula care was done by the researchers in the vocational skills laboratory [4,13,16]. The video flow plan included the introduction of the materials to be used in fistula care as well as the researcher's presentation of how to manage the fistula.…”

“…However, face‐to‐face education is time‐consuming. In addition, it is complicated to apply education to patients during dialysis and to ensure that patients spare time for education [13]. On the other hand, video‐based education models that use visual and audio materials in education appeal to patients with limited health literacy and make education fun.…”

“…There are studies in literature that utilized face‐to‐face education technique for hemodialysis patients' fistula care [16, 17]. At the same time, with the development of technology, mobile applications, and different technological approaches are used to improve the adaptation process of hemodialysis patients and to increase their self‐care and self‐management [13, 18, 19]. Face‐to‐face education, frequently used in the clinic, makes it difficult for nurses with a heavy workload to control time, and patients can receive education in a limited time.…”