Abstract
The purpose of this study was to identify self-management behaviors and work-family conflict (WFC) among working hemodialysis patients, and to obtain suggestions for supporting them to balance dialysis and self-management, as well as work and family life. A self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted among 135 working patients receiving outpatient hemodialysis treatment. There were following findings in this study. The level of self-management behavior was significantly higher in women, those with a short history of dialysis, those who kept medical test data, those with good serum potassium levels, and those with social support. WFC was significantly higher in those who started dialysis after 4 p.m., those with a poor living arrangement, those with long working hours, those with a heavy workload, and those without social support. In the relationship between self-management behavior and WFC, WFC was significantly higher in “poor” self-management behavior group. These results suggest that it is necessary to support working hemodialysis patients to help them manage themselves based on their gender, dialysis history and medical test data. In order to reduce WFC, individualized support should be considered based on their social background, such as dialysis start time, living arrangements and working situation. In this way it is important to identify social support for patients and to link this to patient and family support in collaboration with workplaces and healthcare organizations.
