On receiving the third dialysis, baseline data including self-report questionnaires assessed participants' demographic and disease characteristics and medical record reports for blood pressure and percentage of interdialytic weight gain were collected. A week after discharge, self-management behaviors and quality of life baseline data were assessed using self-reported questionnaires and these were followed up at three and six-months post-discharge, which then also included blood pressure and percentage of interdialytic weight gain. All data were analyzed using the computer-based statistical software package SPSS, version 20.0. Descriptive statistics were calculated to examine the distribution of the study variables as mean, standard deviation and percentage among participants. Inferential statistics included the chi-square test, independent two-sample t-test, and paired sample t-test. Generalized estimating equations were used to assess changes amounts in each outcome variable from the baseline to three months and six-months post-discharge between two groups.
