Rukiye Demir Dikmen
Background
Hemodialysis treatment has many physical or psychological symptoms such as anorexia, dryness of the mouth and discomfort. This study aims to the effects of symptoms in patients receiving hemodialysis treatment on their comfort levels.
Methods This is cross-sectional study. The population of consisted of patients aged over 18 who received treatment at three hemodialysis centers in Elazig province and two in Bingol province. Sampling method was not used as it was aimed to reach the whole population. The research was carried out with 363 patients (84% of the population) meeting the research criteria. The data was collected between June-October 2019. Personal Information Form, Hemodialysis Comfort Scale (HDCS), and Dialysis Symptom Index (DSI) were used to obtain the data. Number, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and Linear regression analysis were used to analyze the data.
Results The symptoms experienced by patients were found to be effective on their comfort levels and R was 0.463 and R2 was 0.215. It was found that 21.5% of the total variance in the HDCS dependent variable was explained by the DSI total score and the result was found to be statistically significant (p < 0.001). Conclusion It was concluded that the symptoms experienced by patients had effects on their comfort levels.
Keyword: Hemodialysis, Comfort, Symptom, Nursing
