HEMODIALYSIS

Abstract

Background: Chronic renal failure / End stage renal disease is not only a medical illness but it also has wide ranging effects onthe patient and his family. Objectives: The objective of the study was to evaluate socio-economic impact of hemodialysis on patientsundergoing dialysis Setting: DHQ Teaching Hospital, Sargodha. Study Design: Cross sectional survey. Methods: The study was carried outa at our dialysis center. All 60 patients who were on dialysis schedule were included in the study. A structured questionnaire for socioeconomicimpact of dialysis was employed to collect the required data. by a third party i.e. a teacher and students of departments of Social Work,University of Sargodha, who were not involved in any part of the patient’s management, to avoid Physician bias and free expression by thepatients. Data was collected on questionnaire and analyzed. Results: A total of 60 patients were interviewed with male to female ratio of 3:1.Average age was 45.92 years. Sixty five percent lived in joint family. Majority of the patients had hypertension as the cause of renal failure. HCVwas positive in fifty five percent. Eighty percent patients were started on dialysis with a central venous access catheter. Sixty one percent weresatisfied by the behavior of their families while, fifty three percent said that the society showed sympathy towards them. Only thirty one percentwere satisfied with their life. About half the patients had economic stress. Forty one percent said that they have become isolated. Fifty onepercent were depressed. Fifteen percent were not satisfied with the attitude of nursing staff while ten percent patients by that of the doctors.Twenty five percent were not satisfied by the quality of medicine provided by NGO. Conclusions: Hemodialysis for ESRD is an expensiveendeavor. No government can cope with the ever increasing number of patients with ESRD. Community participation in terms of social groupsand financial assistance is an important factor to help this group of ailing population.