Hemodialysis patients suffered physical and psychological stress come from chronic disease. Patients may experience troubling symptoms, such as fistula puncture related pain, nausea, vomit, fatigue, diet and fluid restriction, time constrained of dialysis. Studies showed that leisure activities can relief stress, anxiety, depression, and improve patient’s health. Traveling is one of the leisure activities. However, previous studies focused on obstacles and related factors about traveling in dialysis patients, seldom explored travel motivation and factors influencing travel decision making.
Purpose:
1. To explore the travel motivation and factors influencing travel decision making in dialysis patients.
2. To analyze the relationship between demographic characteristics, travel motivation, and travel decision making in dialysis patients.
Methods:
A cross-sectional study and recruited dialysis patients by purposive sampling. Participants were aged 20 and above, conscious clear, able to communicate and willing to join study. Questionnaire was self-designed by referencing literature, include travel motivation and factors influencing decision making dimensions. Total 27 items and calculated by 5-point Likert scale, higher scores mean higher travel motivation and more important influencing factor of travel decision making. Content validity index were 0.95 and 0.90, Cronbach’s α were 0.875 and 0.825 respectively.
Results:
One hundred dialysis patients were recruited, most of them were 41~60 year-old (46%) followed by over 60 year-old (41%), male and married. Dialysis years in average was less than 5 years (65%). At travel motivation, relaxation (4.00±1.19), maintain physical and mental health (3.91±1.01), and experience local natural environment (3.90±1.25) were the major motivations. In terms of travel decision making, the influencing factors were dialysis schedule (3.97±1.26), tourist destination image (3.83±1.18) and travel motivation (3.60±1.10) in sequence. The relationship between demographic data and travel motivation was no significant, but younger patients tend to have higher travel motivation. On the travel decision making, there was significant relationship between age and travel decision making. Younger patients believed the importance of traveling and most of factors influenced the travel decision making.
Conclusion:
Study results revealed that relaxing, maintaining health and experiencing local natural landscape were the major motivation to travel. Those travel decision making would be influenced by dialysis schedule. Younger patients have higher travel motivation and deem travel was very important. As a clinical nurse, feasible dialysis schedule will help and promote patients to arrange travel activities. Though older patients have lower motivation, we should encourage them and join the travel activities.