Quality of life in patients with chronic kidney disease. B. Interactive poster presentations

Kidney disease and related treatments can affect patients’ daily activities; however, their impact on quality of life (QoL) and the role played by psychosocial factors are not completely understood. The aim of this paper was to evaluate, using a self-report questionnaire, patients’ QoL (measured using the WHOQoL) in relation with some socio-demographic variables (gender, age), type of treatment, and some psychosocial variables, such as illness representations, coping strategies and perceived support from the social network. The sample includes 104 patients in dialysis (hemodialysis and peritoneal) and 34 who had received kidney transplantation. Patients in dialysis have lower QoL than post-transplantation patients, particularly in physical and psychological domains, while differences between type of dialysis (hemodialysis and peritoneal) are minor. Results indicate that the perception of renal disease as more controllable, together with the use of active coping strategies and a perception of a larger supportive social network improve patients’ QoL.