Health-related Quality of Life and Existential Concerns Among Patients with End-stage Renal Disease

BACKGROUND: Health-Related Quality Of Life (HRQOL) among patients with End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) is significantly impacted by virtue of varied disease or treatment-related factors, and its evaluation along with existential concerns is required for providing comprehensive care to the patient. AIM: The aim of this study was to describe the various dimensions of HRQOL and existential concerns and to examine the relationship between the two among patients with ESRD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among 54 patients with ESRD undergoing maintenance hemodialysis in a teaching hospital. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to assess socio-demographic characteristics and existential concerns of the respondents. The HRQOL was evaluated using a standardized scale of Kidney Disease Quality of Life-Short Form (KDQOL-SF™) questionnaire. Data were presented as frequencies, mean ± Standard Deviation (SD) for baseline characteristics and scores. Pearson correlation was used to study the association between various domains of quality of life and existential concerns. RESULTS: Among HRQOL, the worst results obtained were in the domain of burden of kidney disease (33.45 ± 13.53), work status (49.07 ± 24.75), quality of social interaction (62.22 ±11.80), general health (43.06 ± 13.01), and physical functioning (47.50 ± 18.88). Disrupted personal integrity (12.80 ± 2.81) and loss of continuity (5.37 ± 1.17) were most bothersome existential concerns. A co-relational model behaves distinctly eliciting weak to strong association among various domains of HRQOL and existential concerns. CONCLUSION: Patients with ESRD reported impaired HRQOL in most of the domains. Existential concerns are distinguished as important dimensions of HRQOL. Association between HRQOL and existential concerns showed that these dimensions are distinct, and there is a need for assessing and attending these entities through a multidisciplinary approach to alleviate the suffering and achieving a sense of overall wellbeing among patients.