Abstract:
     
Renal failure is a life-threating condition in which there is a buildup of waste and fluid in the body due to severe deterioration of kidney function. The prevalence of both acute and chronic renal failure is high in the Arab World. The aim of this study: is to assess the nurses' knowledge and practice related to nursing care of children undergoing hemodialysis at Assiut city. Descriptive and analytic research design was adopted to meet the aim of this study. Subject and methods: This study was conducted in Pediatric Nephrology and Dialysis Unit in Assuit Children University Hospital, El–Mabarah Hospital and El–Eyman General Hospital. The study included convenience sample of 48 nurses from different Nephrology Units at Assiut City. There are two tools used for collecting data in the study, tool one is a structured interview questionnaire sheet consists of two parts: First Part concerned with personal data of the studied nurses as: nurses' name and age. Second Part concerned with nurses knowledge regarding renal failure and hemodialysis. Tool two a structured observational checklist sheet to evaluate the nurses' practice Result: The main results of study demonstrated that there is no statistical significant difference between the nurses' knowledge and their practice regarding nursing care of children undergoing hemodialysis. There is statistical significant difference between the nurses' knowledge scores and their practice with age. Conclusion:The most of AUH nurses had higher score of knowledge related to renal failure and hemodialysis than the ministry of health hospitals. Nurse's practice regarding hemodialysis children in nephrology unit at Assiut university children hospital is higher than that of nurses working at the Ministry of Heath Hospitals. Recommendations: Continuous nursing educational and in-service training programs on kidney dialysis to upgrade the knowledge and skills of practicing nurses, Periodic monitoring of nurses knowledge and practice to evaluate the level of nurses.