Patient Perspectives on Fluid Management in Chronic Hemodialysis

Objective: We sought to describe the perspectives and experiences of chronic hemodialysis (CHD) patients regarding self-care and adherence to fluid restrictions.

Design: Semistructured focus groups.

Setting: Two outpatient hemodialysis centers.

Participants: Nineteen patients on chronic hemodialysis.

Intervention: Patients were asked a series of open-ended questions to encourage discussion about the management of fluid restriction within the broad categories of general knowledge, knowledge sources or barriers, beliefs and attitudes, self-efficacy, emotion, and self-care skills.

Main Outcome Measure: We analyzed session transcripts using the theoretical framework of content analysis to identify themes generated by the patients.

Results: Patients discussed both facilitators and barriers to fluid restriction, which we categorized into six themes: knowledge, self-assessment, psychological factors, social, physical, and environmental. Psychological factors were the most common barriers to fluid restriction adherence, predominantly involving lack of motivation. Knowledge was the most discussed facilitator with accurate self-assessment, positive psychological factors, and supportive social contacts also playing a role. Dialysis providers were most commonly described as the source of dialysis information (54%), but learning through personal experience was also frequently noted (28%).

Conclusion: Interventions to improve fluid restriction adherence of chronic hemodialysis patients should target motivational issues, assess and improve patient knowledge, augment social support, and facilitate accurate self-assessment of fluid status.