Perceived stress in hemodialysis patients

Abstract

Introduction: Individuals with chronic kidney disease on hemodialysis are exposed to potentially stressful situations, such as prolonged treatment time, travel to the service and symptoms resulting from the pathology and treatment¹. Objective: To analyze the level of perceived stress in hemodialysis patients. Method: Quantitative, cross-sectional and descriptive study, carried out in a substitute therapy unit in the northern region of Espírito Santo. The patients included were those who had been on hemodialysis at the clinic for at least 12 months, were over 18 years old, had a Glasgow Coma Scale score of 15 and had preserved hearing acuity. Those excluded were those who were hospitalized during the data collection period. Data were collected in person, from September to October 2022, using an electronic form, using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-14)². The PSS-14 has 14 items, answered using a Likert-type scale, with a score from 0 to 4. The scoring of items with a positive connotation was inverted in the analysis. The stress level is given by the general average and classified as low (0 – 18), moderate (19 – 37) and high (38 – 56). It has 7 items to assess positive stress (eustress) and 7 items for negative stress (distress), whose scores range from 0 to 28 and are classified as low (0 – 9), moderate (10 – 18) and high (19 – 28)3,4,5 . Descriptive analysis was used, with the aid of the SSPS 21® software. CEP opinion no. 5,454,225. Results:  111 patients participated. The scores ranged from 2 to 45, obtaining an average overall score of 21.78 (SD=9.24). In the subscales, the mean for distress was 13.08 (SD=5.72) and the mean for eustress was 8.70 (SD=5.40). Conclusion: The level of self-perception of general stress was moderate, with a predominant constitution of distress, demonstrating the need to propose interventions to manage stress.