CHARACTERIZATION OF ANXIETY AND STRESS IN CHRONIC KIDNEY PATIENTS IN HEMODIALYSIS (Atena Editora)

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Chronic diseases are not defined by their apparent or real severity, but by their incurable or very long duration. Adapting to the characteristics of kidney disease is an extremely complex process, with numerous implications and repercussions of various orders, and it is necessary to value the quality of this survival (RUDNICKI, 2007). Thus, in patients with CKD, who often present with anxiety, stress, pain and even fear of death, it is extremely important that the psychosocial context is understood so that effective measures are established. The current study, therefore, aims to characterize anxiety and stress in chronic renal patients on hemodialysis. METHODOLOGY: This is a cross-sectional, exploratory and quantitative study with a non-probabilistic sample on the relationship between pain and anxiety and stress in patients with chronic kidney disease. The questionnaires were applied at Hospital do Rim, in the city of Aracaju, state of Sergipe, and the population studied is made up of 65 patients. The questionnaires used, internationally validated, were: LIPP Stress Symptom Inventory (LIPP, 2000) and Beck Anxiety Scale (BECK, 1988). RESULTS: Coexistence of anxiety was observed in 100% of individuals with CKD on hemodialysis, for whom 53.8% had the severe form and 46.2%, the moderate form. In view of stress, however, 38.5% of individuals did not present this condition. Even so, it is a minority against the amount of 30.8% who accused resistance and another 30.8%, exhaustion. CONCLUSIONS: These data allow us to infer characteristics of the stimuli present in CKD that drive anxiety, as well as strategies possibly adopted to overcome stress. The disease itself and its treatment cause symptoms that radically alter the individual's biopsychosocial functioning. Therefore, the current study reveals the importance of maintaining or improving quality of life, which is one of the most important therapeutic goals for patients with chronic kidney disease undergoing hemodialysis.