Introduction: With the increasing ageing population the prevalence of chronic kidney failure and other chronic conditions is considerably rising. Due to a large proportion of haemodialised patients and limited access to renal transplantation patients are increasingly being transferred to home-based peritoneal dialysis. Treatment with peritoneal dialysis promotes patient autonomy, encourages the fulfilment of one's needs, and enables effective coordination between the therapy schedule and an active lifestyle. Purpose: The aim of the thesis is to identify the management areas comprising the care of patients undergoing home-based peritoneal dialysis and the types of commonly-employed nursing interventions within the home environment. Additionally, we intend to determine the benefits of home visits of nurses and suggest some possible improvements in the interventions of Slovene community health nurses engaged in home-based treatment with peritoneal dialysis. Methods: During the preparation phase we conducted a systematic literature review of accessible Slovene and foreign academic sources and research studies. The search was performed using the search engine within The Digital Library of the University of Ljubljana and the bibliographic databases CINAHL, MEDLINE and ScienceDirect, whereas six sources were retrieved during the supplementary searches. A total of 28 sources have been included into the analysis. Results: Nurses design the nursing interventions based on the standard care provision procedure and empower the patient or the lay carer to conduct the peritoneal dialysis procedure within the home environment. The patient and lay carer are provided with the necessary technical and psychological support and subsequently, the overall burden of the therapy and the role of the lay carers is evaluated. Discussion and conclusion: Home-based treatment with peritoneal dialysis requires a well-coordinated, interdisciplinary team cooperation. Professional support of the engaged nurses improves home-based treatment outcomes. In order to ensure a more effective management of patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis Slovene health care system should adopt a set of measures enabling our community health nurses to focus their care efforts on preventive interventions, the improvement of curative interventions, and continuous supervision over the home-based treatment process. Moreover, a holistic approach should be adopted as an effective support mechanism to the patient and the other engaged individuals. Professional care within the home environment provides the patients and their families with continuous support in the daily management of the chronic condition under consideration.
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