The Influence of Helping Relationships from Significant Others on Healthy Lifestyle Among Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease

Purpose: The aim of research is to study and explore helping relationships impact on establishing healthy lifestyle among patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The positive behaviors and negative behaviors of helping relationships from significant others assist patients with chronic kidney disease to do health behaviors about diet and exercise. Therefore, the patients will get higher possibilities to insist in suggestions from medical staff and act healthy lifestyle for maintaining healthy behavior and delaying deteriorated disease. Addition to helping relationships from perspectives of Transtheoretic Model, the study explores influence how helping relationships from significant others set and maintain healthy behaviors of patients. According to literature review, there is no helping relationships instrument. Therefore, this study will develop helping relationship of significant others instrument for patients with CKD. 

Methods: Firstly, three nursing or medical experts in chronic disease field discussed and evaluated the item equivalence, clarity and readability about the helping relationship of significant others instrument. A validity index was calculated and any item scoring less than 3 was reconsidered by the experts and suggestions would be incorporated. Secondly, this study will recruit 200 Taiwanese Mandarin-speaking patients aged 20 or older and with a diagnosis of CKD. The psychometric properties of the instrument including the internal consistency, factor analysis and parallel analysis will be performed.

Results: The study is in progress. Descriptive statistics will express frequencies, percentage, or mean± SD. Internal consistency of the helping relationships from significant others will be assessed by determining Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the overall scale and subscales. Confirmatory factor analysis, exploratory factor analysis, scree plot examination, eigenvalues greater than 1, and parallel analysis will be also performed.

Conclusion: The helping relationship of significant others instrument may show good reliability and validity. The positive behaviors and negative behaviors of helping relationships from significant others may assist patients with CKD to do healthy lifestyle about diet and exercise.