Assessment of quality of life in patients on hemodialysis and the impact of counseling

Abstract

Chronic renal failure is an irreversible progressive condition responsible for high morbidity and mortality. Because it requires life-long treatment in the form of renal replacement therapy, the quality of life (QOL) of patients may significantly impair. Studies have revealed that patient education can play a significant role in improving the QOL in these patients. The primary objective of this study was to assess the QOL of patients on hemodialysis by using the World Health Organization Quality of Life assessment scale and also to study the impact of patient counseling in these patients. Fifty patients were selected for the study and they were randomly divided into two groups, control and test; counseling was given to the test group of patients. There was an increase in score in all the four domains (physical, psychological, environmental and social) among the test group when compared with the control group. Also, we found that the psychological domain showed significant increase in score compared with others. Our findings demonstrate that patient counseling plays an important role in improving the QOL by changing their psychological thinking and bringing them toward spirituality.