RELATIONSHIP OF PSYCHOSOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS AND THE OCCURRENCE OF INFECTIOUS COMPLICATIONS IN CONTINUOUS AMBULATORY PERITONEAL DIALYSIS PATIENTS.
Contributors: University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Published: 1993
Number of pages: 134
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Psychology, Behavioral.; Biology, Microbiology.
Description: Nephrology health care personnel suggest that a relationship exists between psychosocial characteristics of peritoneal dialysis patients and the occurrence of complications in these patients. However, a review of the literature reveals very little research regarding this relationship. This study examined the relationship of psychosocial characteristics and the occurrence of infectious complications in patients undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) for the treatment of end-stage renal disease (ESRD).

Psychosocial characteristics of the subjects were assessed through three instruments: the Adjective Check List (from which three personality characteristics--Endurance, Autonomy, and Self-confidence were selected for evaluation), Sherer's Self-Efficacy Scale (SES), and the Exercise of Self-Care Agency Scale (ESCA) developed by Kearney and Fleischer. The occurrence of infectious complications was ascertained through review of the patient's medical record. The number of infectious episodes, time from onset of CAPD to first occurrence of exit site infection or peritonitis, and the presence of risk factors for the development of infection were assessed.

Multiple regression analysis comparing the score on each of the psychosocial measures and the incidence of complications demonstrated a significant relationship between Autonomy and the incidence of peritonitis, and between Autonomy and the total number of infectious complications. A significant relationship between Autonomy and the length of time to the first episode of peritonitis was demonstrated using Cox Hazard Ratio model. The relationships between Endurance, Self-confidence, Self-care agency, and Self-efficacy with infectious complications were not significant.

The investigator serendipitously discovered that the subjects' perceptions about CAPD and ESRD could be used to classify them into three groups: those whose attitude toward dialysis was laissez faire, those who seemed overwhelmed by their circumstance, and those who integrated CAPD into an already full life. Whereas the incidence of infectious complications did not vary significantly in the three groups, the percentage of patients remaining on CAPD varied widely among the groups. Attitudes and feelings about ESRD and CAPD expressed by the subjects demonstrated trends which may provide the foundation for further research in this area.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-10, Section: B, page: 5095.

Thesis (D.S.N.)--UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM, 1993.

School code: 0005.