Factors Affecting Cypriot Nurses’ Roles in the Care and Education of Patients with CKD: An Interpretive Phenomenological Study

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects over 10% of the global population and imposes a growing burden on healthcare systems. Aim: To explore nurses’ perceptions of their roles in CKD care and identify factors influencing role implementation. Methods: An Interpretative Phenomenological Approach (IPA) was employed, involving semi-structured interviews with 16 purposively selected nurses from all district hospitals in the Republic of Cyprus. Thematic analysis was conducted on the transcribed data. Findings: Nurses identified five core roles in CKD care: machine operator, holistic caregiver, bureaucratic coordinator, patient educator, and emotional supporter. These roles varied by setting. Key influencing factors included nurse training, organizational challenges, barriers to patient education, patient behavior, and nurses’ coping strategies. Conclusions: Nurses are essential to quality CKD care, particularly in patient education. A framework was developed to address barriers and support nurses, healthcare organizations, and patients in improving care delivery.