The Correlation Between Anxiety and Coping Mechanisms in Patients with Renal Failure Undergoing Hemodialysis

Abstract

Patients undergoing long-term hemodialysis will face various physical and psychosocial problems. Psychosocial problems include the inability to resume a normal lifestyle, self-reliance in life anxiety, depression, social isolation, loneliness, helplessness, and despair. Renal failure patients should be able to have self-durability during their illness. Patients with adaptive or maladaptive coping mechanisms show a change of physical, psychological, and social environments. A descriptive correlational design was used in the study. The sample size was 58 respondents. The sampling technique used was the total sampling technique. The research instrument was questionnaires, namely the Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (ZSAS) and the Ways of Coping (WAYS). Data were analyzed using frequency distribution and the Chi-square Test. The results showed that most of the respondents were elderly at the age of 46-65 (37 respondents) (63.8%), and males (32 respondents) (55.2%), and undergoing hemodialysis for less than 6 months (38 respondents) (65.5 %). Most respondents experienced mild anxiety (51 respondents) (87.9%). Most respondents had adaptive mechanisms (45 respondents) (77.6%). There was no correlation between anxiety and coping mechanisms in patients with renal failure undergoing hemodialysis (p-value = 0172).