Abstract
Missed dialysis treatment time has potential to increase morbidity and mortality and reduce life expectancy for people with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) who are dependent on hemodialysis (HD) to live. The purpose of this study was to identify some of the reasons that hemodialysis patients provide when explaining their decision to skip or shorten their prescribed HD treatment time by providing ESRD patients with the opportunity to give voice to their perspectives. A secondary purpose of this project was to increase the health care provider's understanding of the HD patient's perspectives and reasons for choosing to skip or shorten their prescribed HD treatment time. A qualitative study design was utilized to provide HD recipients an opportunity to share their reasons for choosing to skip or shorten prescribed dialysis time. Nine in-center hemodialysis patients from mid Minnesota contributed their perspectives via a semi-structured interview. The dialysis patient's right to self-manage their health care and the theory of self-efficacy was used to guide this study. The most common theme identified for choosing to decrease dialysis time was discomfort or illness (66%). Other themes expressed as reasons that dialysis treatments are missed or shortened were `events `beyond my control' (55%), `its my choice' (44%), anger and/or depression (33%), anxiety (22%), and lack of transportation (22%). Perspectives about the experience of living on dialysis were also shared. Consideration of these results may increase the health care provider's ability to offer pertinent education and support and potentially improve adherence to an adequate HD dialysis treatment prescription with the ultimate goal being to reduce morbidity and mortality for persons with ESRD.
Advisor
Marcia Stevens
Committee Member
Sue Ellen Bell
Date of Degree
2012
Language
english
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)
Department
School of Nursing
College
Allied Health and Nursing
Recommended Citation
Lindberg, L. M. (2012). Identifying Patient's Reasons or Rationales for Choosing to Skip or Shorten Hemodialysis [Master’s thesis, Minnesota State University, Mankato]. Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato. https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/etds/208/
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