Introduction:
Elderly people undergoing dialysis treatment often face challenges that affect their overall health and quality of life. Dialysis treatment with chronic illness requires lifestyle changes, which can be challenging, especially for older adults. This study aimed to identify the key factors influencing the ability of elderly dialysis patients to maintain healthy lifestyles by examining various dimensions of functional status and their relationship to health behaviors.
Methods:
The study carried out in two dialysis centers. In centers where a total of 420 patients received dialysis treatment and the number of patients over the age of 65 was 140, all patients who met the criteria for inclusion in the study, did not have communication problems and gave voluntary consent were included in the study.
The study employed a descriptive and correlational research design. The data obtained using the “Personal Information Form”, "Elderly Health Promotion Scale" and "Autonomy Assessment Scale". The data were collected by the researcher by face-to-face interviews with each patient
Variables of the Research
Dependent Variables: The dependent variables of this study are the functional status and health habits of the patients. Independent Variables: The independent variables of the study are descriptive and demographic characteristics such as age, gender, marital status, education level, disease diagnosis, duration of disease, additional diseases, hemodialysis treatment duration.
Results:
55.8% of the elderly individuals included in the study were women, 80.5% were married, 87.7% had social support, 16.7% lived alone, 82.5%
60% of the patients described their health perception as bad
When the health status and behaviors of individuals are examined; only 30.9% are able to do all activities of daily living (GAA) themselves. The Functional Autonomy Assessment Scale was found to be low ( -12.069±11.207.
It was determined that the scores of elderly individuals from the Community Participation (p<0.05), Regular Exercise (p<0.001) sub-dimensions of the health promotion and the total score showed a statistically significant distribution according to age groups.
Advanced statistical analysis and evaluation process continues.
Conclusions:
Determining the competence of patients in maintaining their healthy living habits and functional status in the elderly dialysis population is important in creating an effective and quality care plan for the prevention and early detection of possible complications.
I have no potential conflict of interest to disclose.
I did not use generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process.