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Learning Objective 1: describe illness and treatment beliefs of chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients as guided by Leventhal's common sense model.
Learning Objective 2: integrate patients' perspectives of their illness and treatment into patient-provider encounters.
Describe illness and treatment beliefs of chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients.
Design
A descriptive correlational design was used to explore illness representations.
Population, Sample, Setting
A convenience sample of 85 individuals with Stage 3 CKD was obtained from a Midwestern VA medical center. Respondents’ mean age was 69.2 years (range 50 - 89), predominately male, Caucasian, living with a partner, described their income as being just enough, and reported being diagnosed with CKD 36 months (median). Co-morbidity included diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease with average of 12.4 prescribed medications.
Concept
The study was guided by Leventhal’s common sense model.
Methods
A mailed survey was used to collect demographic information and elicit participants’ perception of their illness and treatment. IPQ-R items were scored from 1 to 5 with higher scores indicating perceptions of higher personal and treatment control of chronic, cyclical illness with serious consequences and negative emotional reactions. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze data.
Preliminary Findings
All 17 symptoms were perceived as related to CKD by at least one respondent with most reporting legs and feet swelling (n=29), fatigue (n=26), and loss of strength (n=21). Top perceived causes of CKD were aging (62.9%) and diet or eating habits (51.9%). The CKD timeline was perceived as more chronic than acute (mean 3.7 v 2.1), with minimal cyclical exacerbations (mean 3.1), and moderate severity of consequences (mean 3.1). Respondents perceived having more personal control than treatment control of CKD (means 3.5 v 3.1). They did not perceive CKD as related to a great negative emotional response (mean 2.8).
Conclusion
Findings indicate that understanding patients’ perceptions of CKD may be important for nurses to effectively facilitate healthy self-management behaviors and improved health care alternatives.
Implications
This study will provide a basis for future studies aimed at understanding CKD patient perspectives.