Self-care Agency and Its Influential Factors in Hemodialysis Patients

Abstract

Background & Aims: Hemodialysis is currently a common treatment for chronic renal disease, which is associated with numerous limitations in the physical, mental and even social function of the patients. As such, self-care activities could significantly help hemodialysis patients to adapt to the course of their disease. The present study aimed to determine self-care agency and its influential factors in hemodialysis patients. Materials & Methods: This cross-sectional was conducted on the patients referring to Razi Educational-Therapeutic Hemodialysis Center in Rasht, Iran in 2017. In total, 126 patients were selected via random sampling. Data were collected using a two-section questionnaire of sociodemographic characteristics and modulated Chinese version of 28-statement self-care agency. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, frequency, and percentage) and analytical tests (independent t-test, correlation-coefficient, analysis of variance, and logistic regression analysis). Results: Approximately 71.4% of the patients had optimal self-care abilities, and a significant correlation was observed between age and self-care agency (P=0.013). Moreover, education level was significantly correlated with self-care agency (P<0.0001). The logistic regression analysis also indicated that the increased age of the patients from the mean age was associated with the reduction of their self-care agency by 1.5 times. Conclusion: Although the majority of the patients had optimal self-care abilities, the results also indicated that with increased age and due to the treatment procedure and disease complications, hemodialysis patients were faced with limitations in proper self-care. Therefore, it is recommended that proper measures be taken regarding the care program of these patients, so that they could fully contribute to their care process as a member of the healthcare team.

Self-Care and Its Predictive Factors in Hemodialysis Patients

“…These findings are in line with previous studies and indicate that self-care of HD patients decrease over the time. 6 , 2 , 42 However Unsar et al, found no significant relationship between age and self-care in HD patients. 13 It seems that with the age increasing, physical problems and care requisites will increase in HD patients as they have lower energy for self-care than the younger patients.…”

“… 1 The most common treatment that alleviates the symptoms and rescues the patients’ life is HD. 2 The prevalence of CKD is increasing in the world for many reasons. 3 An annual growth of 5-6 percent in the CKD compared to population growth has been a challenge in all countries around the world.…”

Investigating the Effectiveness of a Virtual Family-centered Support Intervention on the Mental Health of Hemodialysis Patients and their Family Caregivers During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Better outcomes from self-management and enhanced mental health are associated with higher patient self-efficacy [56]. Furthermore, educating and supporting patients toward self-centeredness can enhance disease management and decrease healthcare expenses [57,58].…”

Self-Effication in Relation to Personal Care and The Health-Related Quality of Life of Hemodialysis Patients

“…Self-efficacy is the belief in a person's ability to successfully achieve something and is very important for managing chronic diseases like CKD. 12 Good self-efficacy enables hemodialysis patients to be more actively involved in self-care management. It also improves the health-related quality of life, level of cooperation with the family and paramedics, communication, and medication adherence.…”