Experiences of patients with end stage renal disease prior to and during dialysis therapy at greater Accra regional hospital

Abstract

: Hemodialysis affects the socio-economic status of patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD) resulting in a large number of psychological disorders for both the patients and their families. The purpose of this study is to explore the experiences of patients undergoing dialysis at Greater Regional Hospital in Ghana. The researchers employed a qualitative phenomenological research design using and analyzed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis. A purposive sampling technique was employed by the researchers to select 16 participants who were engaged in face-to-face in-depth interviews conducted. The socio-demographic characteristics revealed that majority were males (n = 11; 69%)and more than half of the participants (n = 14; 87.5%), were over 40 years. Again, most of the participants indicated spending between 150USD to 180USD weekly on dialysis treatment alone. The study revealed 3 themes and 13 subthemes emerged from the analysis of this data. The main themes were the Physical experiences of patients prior to starting dialysis, personal experiences during dialysis and socioeconomic burden on the participants. Participants faced challenges prior to and whilst on dialysis however the symptoms were better whilst on dialysis. It is therefore recommended that participants with ESRD are supported to go through dialysis treatment to enhance their quality of life.

Keywords:

• Experiences
• patients
• end stage renal disease
• dialysis
• hemodialysis

Availability of data and materials

The supplementary materials will be provided upon request

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Description of the Paper

There is a high prevalence of kidney failure in both even in young adults globally. Early diagnosis of renal diseases could lead to a good prognosis and quality of life, nevertheless, cases of kidney disorders are diagnosed late when the function has completely failed. Dialysis is one of the treatment options for renal failure. These treatments are not readily available, especially in low-resource countries. This study was therefore to understand the experiences of patients diagnosed with End Stage Renal Failure who were undergoing hemodialysis treatment. Most of the participants indicated spending between 150USD to 180USD weekly on dialysis treatment alone and 14.08 USD on other treatments such as blood transfusion. Other challenges identified included inadequate dialysis unit and anxiety prior to initiating dialysis. Nevertheless, participants testified that their symptoms improved after commencing dialysis therapy. Increasing knowledge on renal failure and dialysis could help reduce the incidence of renal failure and promote dialysis adherence.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Ethical clearance was first obtained from the Dodowa Health Research Center Institutional Review Board (DHRCIRB 27/03/20)

Verbal and written consent were also attained from the individual participants before the data collection

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Notes on contributors

Evans Osei Appiah

Evans Osei Appiah He is a Registered nurse in Ghana with a BSc in Nursing from Valley View University Ghana, an MPhil in Nursing from the University of Ghana, and is currently a Ph.D. Candidate at Purdue University, USA. He has 14 publications in peered reviewed journals. His research interest is Qualitative studies, gynecological cancers, women’s health, and end-of-life issues. He has reviewed several papers for some reputable nursing journals and has co-authored one book.