Quality of life of patients undergoing hemodialysis

Abstract

Introduction: Chronic Renal Failure (CRF) is a chronic disease, which has a negative impact on the quality of patients’ life. The study of factors affecting the quality of life of these patients is necessary to investigate the impact of the disease in a biological, psychological and social level.Aim: The purpose of this research study was to investigate the satisfaction of patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis and their perceptions of their quality of life.Material and Method: The study sample consisted of patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis at a Dialysis Unit in Athens. The study lasted from January 2016 to March 2016. To measure the health related quality of patients’ life, the Greek version of the questionnaire WHOQOL-BREF of the World Health Organization was used. The completion of the questionnaires was made by the method of the structured interview. A total of 70 questionnaires were completed.Results: According to the study results, most of the patients considered the quality of their life as good (48.6%), while the 8.5% described it as bad or very bad. The lowest satisfaction rates associated with issues of physical health and independence with mean (12.89 ± 2.23) and the highest with social relations (14.68 ± 1.50).Conclusion: The effect of Chronic Renal Failure on the physical, psychological and social background of patients on dialysis is an essential factor in creating a tailor-made holistic treatment program, adjusted to the specific needs of each patient.

Investigation of Perception of Quality of Life and Psychological Burden of Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis—Quality of Life of Hemodialysis Patients

“…One of the main findings of the present study was the fact that patients with moderate or severe levels of Anxiety and Depression have lower QoL in Physical and Mental Health Composite Scores ( p < 0.01). Generally, however, large-scale population studies have shown that Physical Health is at much lower levels than Mental Health [ 17 ], with the disease being considered almost entirely responsible for this.…”

“…They found a mean of just 36.3 ± 21.7 for the general health component, while Malindretos and colleagues (2010) [ 13 ] also found a mean of <35.0, levels that were naturally lower than those of the present study (41.1 ± 21.1). Using a different assessment tool, Garofyllou and colleagues (2017) [ 17 ] found moderate mean levels of Physical Health in Greek hemodialysis patients. In any case, these findings may indicate low to moderate QoL, while a change over time may be apparent due to changes in, for example, living conditions, study samples, hemodialysis or comorbidity, and stage of disease.…”

“…Anxiety and Depression scores were classified in 4 categories: normal (score < 8), mild (8-10), moderate(11)(12)(13)(14) and severe(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21). SD, standard deviation.…”