Objective To explore the impact of the nursing intervention program based on the MPNFS theory on symptom distress and self-management in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients.

Methods From September 2024 to December 2025, 100 MHD patients were selected as the research subjects from the Blood Purification Center of the First People's Hospital of Bengbu City. The patients were divided into the observation group and control group by the random number table method, with 50 cases in each group. The observation group were intervened usaing the nursing plan based on the MPNFS theory, while the control group were intervened using routine nursing. The intervention period in two groups was 3 months. The scores of the Dialysis Symptom stress Scale (DSI) and Hemodialysis Self-Management Behavior Scale (SMSH) in two groups between before and after the intervention were compared.

Results The overall symptom incidence after the intervention was lower than that before the intervention (P ＜ 0.05). After 12 weeks of intervention, the total score of DSI and score of each dimension in the observation group were lower than those in the control group, Moreover, the total score of DSI and score of each dimension in the observation group were all lower than those before the intervention (P ＜ 0.01), while in the control group, only the physical symptoms were lower than those before the intervention (P ＜ 0.01). After 4 weeks of intervention, except for self-management, the observation group was higher than the control group in other dimensions and total score of SMSH (P ＜ 0.01). After 12 weeks of intervention, the total score of SMSH and score of each dimension in the observation group were higher than those in the control group (P ＜ 0.01), and the total score of SMSH and score of each dimension in the observation group were also higher than those before the intervention (P ＜ 0.01). In the control group, except for self-management, the scores of the other dimensions and total score of SMSH were higher than those before the intervention (P ＜ 0.01).

Conclusions Compared with conventional care, the nursing intervention program based on the MPNFS theory can better alleviate the symptom distress of MHD patients after implementation, enhance their self-management ability, and provide a practical and replicable basis for the self-management of MHD patients, which is worthy of clinical promotion and application.