Abstract
There were 22 aged or handicapped hemodialysis patients in our hospital in 1987 (22.5% of the 98 hemodialysis patients), 43 in 1993 (35.8% of the 120), and 47 in 1994 (33.6% of the 140). It is difficult for some of them to come to the hospital themselves, and six of them were admitted to four facilities. We conducted a questionnaire survey of 85 members of the staff of these facilities. Seventy-four percent of them felt anxious concerning the admission of hemodialysis patients in terms of diet and water intake, emergencies, blood access, and/or transportation. They assessed hemodialysis before the patients' admission. The QOL of aged and handicapped hemodialysis patients without family may be better in a facility than in a hospital. To sustain better QOL of hemodialysis patients in facilities, we must maintain contact with their staff.
