Balkan Military Medical Review 2016; 19(1):10-18 ISSN: 1107-6275 10 BALKAN Military Medical REVIEW Original Research The Evaluation of Information Requirements of the Intensive Care Nurses in End-Stage Renal Failure Patients’ Care Elif Acar 1 , Hatice Sutcu Cicek 1 , Selim Kilic 2 , Nuran Tosun 1 1 Department of Medical Nursing, School of Nursing, Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Ankara, Turkey 2 Department of Epidemiology, Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Ankara, Turkey Received April 28, 2015 Accepted September 09, 2015 Published Online January 06, 2016 DOI 10.5455/bmmr.186504 Corresponding Author Hatice Sutcu Cicek, Gülhane Military Medical Academy, School of Nursing Ankara, Turkey hcicek@gata.edu.tr Key Words Intensive Care Nurses, End-Stage Renal Failure, Nursing Care Abstract Background and Aim: Nurses who are working in all areas, particularly in the intensive care unit may experience end-stage renal failure (ESRD) patients. This study was conducted to assess the information requirements of the intensive care nurses in caring of end-stage renal failure patients. Materials and Methods: This descriptive study was conducted in a teaching and research hospital between 3 February 2014 and 30 April 2014. The practice has been completed with 133 nurses (84.17%) of 158 nurses working in the intensive care unit (ICU) who match the search criteria and agreed to participate in the study. Ethical and institutions approval was obtained. Data collection form developed as a result of the literature review consists of 54 questions. At least 70% (n=30) of the questions (n=42) that determine the level of knowledge in the ESRD patient care are expected to give the right answer from nurses. Descriptive statistics were given as number, percentage, mean and standard deviation. In the evaluation of the obtained data, characteristics and the total number of correct answers of nurses were compared using Independent T test and One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test, p<0.05 was accepted as meaningful. Findings: Twenty participants are male, mean age 28.2 ± 5.6 and 60.2% of the participants works in the surgical ICU. Average correct count is 32.7 ± 4.5 (min=11-max=40), the most frequent correct answer count is 33 (n=25). More than half of the nurses (55.6%) know how to control the arteriovenous fistula. However,73.7% of the nurses do not feel competent themselves in ESRD patients care and 36.1% of the cases gave the wrong answer to the question about the need to use masks while doing hemodialysis catheter dressing. While 91% of participants gave the correct answer to the "There are drawbacks about the diet rich in potassium for ESRD patients" question, 14.3% of participants gave the wrong answer to the "There is nothing wrong to eat bananas and apricots for ESRD patients" question. Most of the participants gave the correct answer to the "I prefer back of the hand when drawing blood in ESRD patients" (69.2%) and "It is inconvenient to draw blood from the antecubital fossa" (72.9%) question. A statistically significant difference were found between total correct answers according to received training about ESRD (p=0.011). There is no statistically significant difference between total correct answers according to working time in intensive care unit, full operating time (p>0.05). Results: Most of the participants (80%) answered at least 70% of the knowledge questions about ESRD correctly. It is suggested that standards must be created utilizing clinical practice guidelines to increase the effectiveness of nursing care. trainingchanges perceptions about issues especially in critical units such as intensive care units and acts by increasing the knowledge. There should be multidisciplinary training programs about ESRD and training programs should be organized related to the subject to intensive care staff. INTRODUCTION Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is a condition characterized by irreversible and progressive reduction in renal function. CKD, may progress to End Stage Renal Failure (ESRF) (Schub & Strayer, 2010). If an individual’s glomerular filtration rate is less than 15 mL/min that individual is described as being in ESRD.