Hemodialysis patients perceived exercise benefits and barriers: the association with health-related quality of life

Abstract

Background Patients on hemodialysis have less exercise capacity and lower health-related quality of life than healthy individuals without chronic kidney disease (CKD). One of the factors that may influence exercise behavior among these patients is their perception of exercise benefits and barriers. The present study aimed to assess the perception of hemodialysis patients about exercise benefits and barriers and its association with patients’ health-related quality of life. Methods In this cross-sectional study, 227 patients undergoing hemodialysis were randomly selected from two dialysis centers. Data collection was carried out using dialysis patient-perceived exercise benefits and barriers scale (DPEBBS) and kidney disease quality of life short form (KDQOL-SF). Data were analyzed using SPSS software ver. 21. Results The mean score of DPEBBS was 68.2 ± 7.4 (range: 24 to 96) and the mean KDQOL score was 48.9 ± 23.3 (range: 0 to 100). Data analysis by Pearson correlation coefficient showed a positive and significant relationship between the mean scores of DPEBBS and the total score of KDQOL (r = 0.55, p < 0.001). Moreover, there was a positive relationship between the mean scores of DPEBBS and the mean score of all domains of KDQOL. Conclusion Although most of the patients undergoing hemodialysis had a positive perception of the exercise, the majority of them do not engage in exercise; it could be contributed to the barriers of exercise such as tiredness, muscle fatigue, and fear of arteriovenous fistula injury. Providing exercise facilities, encouraging the patients by the health care provider to engage in exercise programs, and incorporation of exercise professionals into hemodialysis centers could help the patients to engage in regular exercise.

Barriers and facilitators to exercise in haemodialysis patients: A systematic review of qualitative studies

“…Psychologically, exercise can improve depression of patients (Afsar et al, 2018) and improve QOL (Cho et al, 2018). Therefore, exercise being considered beneficial as a facilitator to exercise, which is similar to the result of a quantitative study (Ghafourifard et al, 2021). Other study suggests that motivation for exercise may stem from awareness of the benefits of exercise (Clarke et al,2015).…”

Motivation, Barriers, and Suggestions for Intradialytic Exercise—A Qualitative Study among Patients and Nurses

“…Studies of patients’ opinions and experiences with IE show that they view it positively, particularly when interventions include personal instruction and follow-up [ 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ]. However, patients also perceive barriers that include exercise equipment [ 31 ], safety concerns [ 16 , 29 , 30 ], disease distress [ 30 ], and nursing workloads [ 31 , 32 , 33 ].…”

“…Studies of patients’ opinions and experiences with IE show that they view it positively, particularly when interventions include personal instruction and follow-up [ 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ]. However, patients also perceive barriers that include exercise equipment [ 31 ], safety concerns [ 16 , 29 , 30 ], disease distress [ 30 ], and nursing workloads [ 31 , 32 , 33 ]. Studies have found that nurses’ attitudes towards patients’ physical activity are correlated with patients’ activity levels, i.e., patients are less physically active when their nurses believe that physical activity is unimportant, or lack the time or feel unqualified, to discuss physical activity with patients [ 34 , 35 ].…”

Effect of Exercise on Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients with End-Stage Renal Disease

“…Patients with CKD benefit greatly from exercise training, which includes both aerobic and resistance activities, as well as increased muscle strength and lower blood pressure (BP) [26]. PE also benefits dialysis patients' physical health by improving CV function, blood pressure, muscle strength, and nutritional status, as well as improving dialysis quality [28]. For HD patients, PA in everyday life has a greater impact on QoL than it does in the general population [29].…”