Disease acceptance, adherence to recommendations and level of stress among hemodialyzed patients

Introduction
The aim of this study was to analyze the influence of sociological and medical factors on levels of disease acceptance, adherence to recommendations, and severity of stress, as well as assessing correlations between them in hemodialyzed patients.

Material and methods
The study included 66 patients aged between 32 and 92 years who were treated with hemodialysis in Piła, Poland. The inclusion criteria: the age of 18 or above, treatment with renal replacement therapy with the hemodialysis method, and informed consent for participation in the study. The study was carried out using the diagnostic poll method used: Adherence to Refills and Medication Scale (ARMS), Acceptance of Illness Scale (AIS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), and author’s own questionnaire.

Results
Studies showed that patients had a neutral attitude towards the disease. A statistically significant influence of age, professional activity, satisfaction with treatment choice, presence of adverse effects, and concomitant diseases on patient’s acceptance of the disease was established. Statistically significant correlations between AIS and PSS-10 were determined.

Conclusions
The patient’s disease acceptance was on a neutral level. The elderly characterize with a lower level of acceptance in comparison with younger patients. Satisfaction with treatment, lack of adverse effects, and concomitant diseases help with disease acceptance. Long treatment duration, discontent with the treatment, suffering from concomitant diseases exacerbate stress. Adherence to therapeutic recommendations was on an average level. Greater stress contributes to worse adherence to therapeutic recommendations. A decrease in stress improves the level of disease acceptance.