Subjective Meanings of Older Patients on Hemodialysis

Abstract

Many older adults with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) undergo hemodialysis. The treatment causes changes in daily life, in addition to those experienced in old age. The aim of the study was to analyze how the experience with CKD interferes with the subjective meanings produced by the older adults on hemodialysis. The study, with a qualitative approach, was carried out with 10 older people undergoing hemodialysis in a University hospital. The instruments were: sociodemographic / clinical questionnaire and semi-structured interview. The methodological and theoretical references: Bardin's Content Analysis and Gonzalez Rey's cultural-historical perspective. The older adults were between 60 and 83 years old: female (seven) and male (three); hemodialysis time between one and a half year and 30. The sociodemographic and clinical aspects demonstrated: dependence on family support and the presence of comorbidities prior to CKD. Thematic categories: Hemodialysis treatment: Ambivalent subjective senses; Confronting the lived context: family support and spirituality; The “old being”. The experience with CKD interfered in the production of subjective meanings of the older adults on hemodialysis through the repercussions in their daily lives, changing the social roles and plans for life, as well as causing ambivalent feelings about the treatment and about themselves.