Self-management interventions for arteriovenous fistulas vary in duration, frequency, and theoretical frameworkSelf-Management Programs May Help Patients with Arteriovenous Fistulas

To map and characterize the available evidence on self-management interventions for arteriovenous fistulas in hemodialysis patients, identifying the types of interventions, their characteristics, and existing knowledge gaps. This review followed JBI methodology for scoping reviews and reported in line with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). PubMed, Web of Science, The Cochrane Library, Embase, CINAHL, Scopus, CNKI, Wanfang Database, VIP database and China Biology Medicine Disc were systematically searched. To identify intervention studies focusing on the self-management of arteriovenous fistula in hemodialysis patients. The search timeframe extended from the inception of each database until December 2025. The language types of the included literatures were Chinese and English. Two independent researchers screened the literature, extracted relevant data, and conducted analyses on the included studies. A total of 2073 articles were retrieved, and 15 studies were included. On the theoretical foundation, seven studies explicitly adopted theoretical foundation to guide intervention design, including The Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change, Orem’s General Nursing Theory, The Contractual Management Model, The PRECEDE-PROCEED Model, Root Cause Analysis, and Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve. In terms of intervention design and implementation, most of the programs were developed jointly by clinicians and nurses, and nurses were the main implementors. The intervention contents mainly included Arteriovenous fistula related knowledge, daily assessment and nursing, precautions and complication identification. Some studies also involved diet, exercise, medication and hemodialysis related management. The main form of intervention was combined strategy, and individualized face-to-face education, multimodal health education, mobile health management and peer support were common. In the included studies, the total duration of the intervention ranged from 2 to 8 weeks, the frequency ranged from 1 to 8 sessions, and the duration of a single intervention ranged from 15 min to 60 min. In terms of outcome evaluation, most studies used self-management ability as the primary outcome index, 7 studies reported complication outcomes, 4 studies evaluated psychological status, and 3 studies evaluated quality of life, while there were relatively few studies on physiological and biochemical indicators and physical function. Studies on self-management intervention of arteriovenous fistula in hemodialysis patients have shown certain effects, but it is still in the development stage. This review sorted out the characteristics and shortcomings of the existing evidence, so as to provide ideas for follow-up research design and clinical practice improvement, in order to eventually improve the self-management ability and long-term outcomes of arteriovenous fistula in hemodialysis patients. Playing the role of multidisciplinary team and using mobile applications to build a multi-level and personalized self-management intervention plan may be a feasible direction to improve the intervention effect. The protocol is registered on OSF with the unique identifier: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/YRBTZ, publicly available at: https://osf.io/26eb4.