Abstract
The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship between cognitive family functioning and mental health in hemodialysis patients, using structural equation modeling. The subjects were 1,705 hemodialysis patients who belonged to the "A" Prefectural Association of Kidney Disease Patients. Hemodialysis patients answered a self-administered questionnaire about their sex and age, family structure, duration on hemodialysis (months), Katz Index, number of the complications, working state, cognitive economical poorness, cognitive family functioning and mental health. Data of 464 hemodialysis patients were used for this analysis. The results indicated that cognitive family cohesion had a significant relationship on mental health, not cognitive family adaptability. In clinical intervention, Social Workers intend to assess cognitive family cohesion with hemodialysis patients, and approach which aimed to maintain and improve mental health.
