Last update:
02-Mar-2020

OBJECTIVE Τo assess quality of life (QoL) and its predictors in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) undergoing hemodialysis and to investigate whether spirituality contributes to their QoL.

METHOD A cross-sectional study was conducted with 367 patients suffering from CKD, undergoing hemodialysis. Data were collected using the following instruments: (a) A form consisting of sociodemographic questions and clinical data, (b) the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being Scale (FACIT-Sp-12), for the assessment of spirituality, and (c) the Missoula-VITAS Quality of Life Index 15 (MVQOLI-15) Scale for measuring QoL. Statistical analysis was conducted using descriptive and inferential statistics of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 20.0 software. The statistical significance level was set at a=0.05.

RESULTS Family status, area of residence and comorbidities were shown to affect most of the aspects of QoL. Regarding spirituality, the dimensions of meaning, peace and total spirituality were strongly correlated with all the dimensions of QoL (p<0.01).

CONCLUSIONS For many people, religion and spirituality are central to their lives. Spiritual orientation can provide a sense of purpose in life, and it provides strategies for coping with stress, empowers adaptation to illness and improves overall QoL in patients with CKD.

Key words: Chronic kidney disease, Hemodialysis, Predictive factors, Quality of life, Spirituality.