Comparison of medical coping styles in renal transplant patients and hemodialysis patients

Hongbo GUO; Fengqi FU

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND:

The perception evaluation of treatment can influence the patients’ coping activities and psychosomatic reactions. Therefore, the medical coping mode adopted by patients is one of the most important medium factors affecting clinical treatment.

OBJECTIVE:

To explore the characteristics and influencing factors of medical coping styles in hemodialysis patients and renal transplant patients. DESIGN, TIME AND

SETTING:

Questionnaire investigation was performed from January 2005 to January 2006 in Department of Urology, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University (Beijing, China).

PARTICIPANTS:

Sixty hemodialysis outpatients and 60 renal transplant outpatients with normal graft function from Beijing Friendship Hospital of Capital Medical University, were enrolled into this study. All the patients had to fulfill the following criteria such as they had completed the transplantation for ≥ 3 months and their renal function were normal while enrolled, or they had been on hemodialysis for ≥ 3 months. All the patients volunteered to participate in the questionnaire investigation.

METHODS:

Questionnaire investigation was carried out in 60 hemodialysis patients and 60 renal transplant patients. Patients completed the questionnaires following instructions by investigators. The interview scale included variables such as gender, age, education, occupation, marital status, children, family income, payment mode, influence of medical cost on family, time receiving hemodialysis and time after renal transplantation, etc. Medical coping mode questionnaire contains three subscales Confrontation, Avoidance and Acceptance-Resignation. Patients scored the questions over a range of 1 to 4 points. A higher score indicated a higher coping tendency adopted by patients. MAIN OUTCOME

MEASURES:

All the patients were scored by each scale of Confrontation, Avoidance and Acceptance-Resignation, and were compared with the norms. Pearson’s correlation analysis was used to explore the correlation between coping modes and influencing factors in hemodialysis patients and renal transplant patients.

RESULTS:

All 120 patients were involved in the result analysis. There were significant differences between hemodialysis patients and renal transplant patients in medical payment modes, the influence of medical cost on family, and the time on hemodialysis/time after renal transplantation (P 0.05). The average score of Confrontation in hemodialysis patients was lower than the norm (P 0.05). The average scores of Avoidance and Acceptance-Resignation in renal transplant patients were higher than the norms (P