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Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) emerges as one of the main chronic degenerative disorders globally. In its terminal stage, hemodialysis therapies, whose incidence is increasing, prolong life, but are not curative. Among the mechanisms for coping with psychological, emotional and social challenges, Religiosity/Spirituality (R/S) is an important pillar. Spirituality, which encompasses the concept of religiosity, more linked to a set of beliefs shared by a group of individuals, is universal, inherent to every individual, and gives meaning to human existence. It is an internal movement, which defines the meaning of life. It is an everyday presence, and is present in the social and relational environment, in health, leisure, religion, in the depths of each being, that is, in all spaces and existential realities. Studies on how R/S influence the way patients deal with chronic diseases have contributed to the inclusion of the topic during treatment by health teams.
This is qualitative research to obtain a bachelor's degree in Medicine, carried out by obtaining primary data from the application of the FICA Tool with patients with Chronic Kidney Disease living in the Far South of Santa Catarina undergoing hemodialysis. The interpretation of the data obtained followed the qualitative content analysis method, through the categorization of the transcribed textual material.
After analyzing patients' responses to the FICA tool, it was identified that 87.5% of the sample reported being religious and 10% considered themselves spiritual; 80% of those interviewed consider that religious and spiritual beliefs help to deal with problems, and 87.5% of the total consider their belief and faith as “very important”. 97.5% of patients responded that their beliefs do not interfere with decisions and medical treatment, with 2.5% reporting that it does - specifically, the patient who reported this response attributed the lack of adherence to hemodialysis sessions to his faith, so to perform fewer sessions than recommended by the doctor at the Clinic where the study was carried out. 60% of the sample is part of a religious community. 60% of patients consider it important and/or would like to be approached about the R/S topic, and the rest do not like and/or do not know how to respond. 92.5% of patients have never been approached about the subject of R/S. In order to exemplify these results, below is an excerpt from an interview carried out with one of the patients, a 26-year-old male: “I think faith was important at certain moments, especially in the beginning, when we feel very much like that... when you sit in this here (hemodialysis chair) it's a panic. I sat here and thought “that’s it, it’s over now, there’s nothing to do”. Then you go, and this isn't a 7-headed thing... Just get going and that's it. The belief we have is what keeps us alive. If you don’t believe in anything, you surrender.”
R/S has a great relevance in coping with CKD, being, together with the good interpersonal relationship between patients and the care team, an important tool in coping with the disease. The connection between the palliative nature of CKD and hemodialysis therapy is not well understood by patients, possibly due to the lack of implementation of Palliative Care in the routine.