Abstract
In order to be able to provide the most suitable treatment for hemodialysis patients, an investigation of what gives their lives meaning was thought to be essential. Therefore, 350 patients on chronic hemodialysis were analyzed in relation to the duration of therapy, personality traits, and age. Every patient was seen by a psychiatrist and a medical social worker and was assessed on the basis of a structured interview check list. The present report deals with the analysis of the first interview.
The factors the patients listed as giving meaning to their lives included family (28%), rehabilitation (13%), health, marriage, and so on.
More than 50% of the patients who were on hemodialysis for more than a year reported feeling that life was not worth living. Analysis of their personality traits by the Yatabe-Gilford test revealed that E-type personality (neurotic type) was associated with an increased incidence of loss of desire to live and of hope for perfect health, indicating difficulty in accepting and coping with the disease. Patients of school age and those over 60 years of age could not specify the factors that give meaning to their lives. The middle age group reported that their families and rehabilitation were the most important.
The present report suggests that there should be a special care planning which takes into consideration the patients' circumstances. In addition social workers, nurses, doctors, psychiatrists and family members have to cooperate in providing supportive intervention during long-term hemodialysis care. This is because hemodialysis patients have a tendency to feel despair, hopelessness, and helplessness. They also feel unable to cope with their disease and feel that their environmental supports are no longer available.
