Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research1735-906618120130312828828ENDepartment of Nursing, Nursing and Midwifery College, Kerman University of Medical Science, Kerman, IranDepartment of Nursing, Nursing and Midwifery College, Kerman University of Medical Science, Kerman, IranDepartment of Statistic, Paramedical School, Golestan University of Medical Science, Gorgan, IranDepartment of Nursing, Nursing and Midwifery College, Kerman University of Medical Science, Kerman, IranDepartment of Statistic, Paramedical School, Golestan University of Medical Science, Gorgan, Iran20130312<p><strong>Background: </strong>Patients with end‑stage renal disease (ESRD) who receive dialysis confront the burdens of long‑term illness and numerous physical problems.</p> <p><strong>Materials and Methods: </strong>This was a quasi-experimental study. The selected patients from Gorgan Dialysis Centre were randomly assigned into an empowerment group (<em>n </em>= 40) and a control group (<em>n </em>= 40). Instruments comprised scales of Empowerment and the Strategies Used by People to Promote Health (SUPPH). Data were collected at baseline and at 6 weeks following the intervention. The data were analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics through SPSS (version 17).</p> <p><strong>Results: </strong>The results indicate that scores of the empowerment (<em>P </em>&le; 0.001) and self‑care self‑efficacy (<em>P </em>= 0.003) in the empowerment group showed a significantly greater improvement than the control group.</p> <p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The study supports the effectiveness of the empowerment program to promote empowerment level and self-care self‑efficacy of hemodialysis patients.</p> <p><strong>Key words:</strong> Empowerment, end‑stage renal disease, hemodialysis, Iran, nursing, self‑care self‑efficacy</p>http://ijnmr.mui.ac.ir/index.php/ijnmr/article/view/828http://ijnmr.mui.ac.ir/index.php/ijnmr/article/download/828/614