Level of Health-Related Quality of Life according to length of treatment in hemodialysis patients

Chronic kidney disease has become a social health problem due to the increase in the incidence of cases and the physical, mental, social and economic impact that both the disease and long-term renal replacement therapy have on patients. This situation became visible in a hemodialysis unit and motivated us to describe the level of Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) of hemodialysis patients in relation to the length of time they have been undergoing treatment. The approach was quantitative on 15 elderly patients who agreed to participate in the study. The survey technique was applied using the WHOQOL-BREF Quality of Life Scale as an instrument, which surveyed the general average of HRQOL and its physical-environmental, psychological and social domains, and the questionnaire was completed with socio-demographic information of interest; the questionnaire was pilot-tested in 5 patients. The patients' perception of their overall HRQoL showed no differences between a group of patients with more than three years of treatment and another with less than three years, and patients rated their quality of life as normal, but expressed feeling somewhat dissatisfied with their quality of health. In addition, both groups expressed that they rarely have negative feelings. The physical-environmental condition had a perspective of normality where both groups reflected a greater influence of pain, while the older ones felt a greater need for treatment and had a better perspective of the meaning of life. The social domain revealed a deficit in leisure and activity in both groups; on the other hand, a better acceptance of physical appearance could be found in the older patients. In the psychological domain, patients with less seniority in the treatment showed dissatisfaction in most of the indicators; the oldest patients shared a deficient evaluation in sexual satisfaction, but had a better perception of the conditions of the place where they live and of the rest of the psychological domains.