Supportive care needs of caregivers of patients receiving hemodialysis treatment

This research, in which a cross-sectional-descriptive design was used, was conducted to determine the styles of coping with stress and perceived social support and spiritual well-being of caregivers of patients receiving hemodialysis treatment, as well as support interventions that they need physically. The population of the research included individuals who provided care for patients receiving hemodialysis treatment. The research was carried out between August 1 and October 1, 2022 in three dialysis centers, namely Başkent University Karadeniz Ereğli Dialysis Center, Private Eregli Can Dialysis Center, and T.R. Ministry of Health Karadeniz Eregli State Hospital Dialysis Center, which are located in Karadeniz Ereğli district of Zonguldak province. Data collection tools included a Patient Descriptive Characteristics Form and a Caregiver Descriptive Characteristics Form, created by the researcher following a review of the literature, the Stress Coping Styles Scale (SCSS), the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), and the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS). Descriptive statistics, such as frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation values, independent t-test, ANOVA test, Tukey test, and Pearson correlation analysis were used in the analysis of the data. During the caregiving process, the majority of caregivers had physical problems (52,7%), which included fatigue (89,8%), sleep disturbance (61,2%), change in personal care (26,5%), and low back pain (16,3%). Caregivers obtained the highest mean scores from the Self-Confident Approach (2,59±0,50) and Optimistic Approach (2,40±0,58) sub-dimensions of the SCSS. Their mean score on the total MSPSS was 62,58±17,81, and the highest score was obtained from the Family (24,87±5,24) sub-dimension of the scale. It was also determined that the mean score of the caregivers on the total SWBS was 121,27±12,44 and that the highest score was obtained from the Harmony with Nature (32,98±3,15) sub-dimension of the scale. According to the findings, it was determined that the social support and spiritual well-being levels of the caregivers were good. The results of the research indicated that there was a significant difference between the scores of the caregivers on the SCSS, the MSPSS, and SWBS according to their sociodemographic characteristics (p<0,05). It was determined that there was a statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the caregivers on the anomie sub-dimension of the SWBS according to only their fatigue status, which was among their physical problems (p<0,05). It was determined that there was no significant linear relationship between caregivers' mean scores on the sub-dimensions of the SCSS and the total MSPSS score (p>0,05), there was a moderate and positive significant linear relationship between their mean scores on the sub-dimensions of the SCSS and the total SWBS score, and that there was no significant linear relationship between the mean scores of the caregivers on the total MSPSS score and the total SWBS score (p>0,05). Also, it was found that there was no significant linear relationship between the sub-dimension scores of the SCSS and the sub-dimension scores of the MSPSS (p>0,05), there was no significant linear relationship between the mean sub-dimension scores of the MSPSS and the SWBS (p>0,05), and that there were different levels of relationships between the mean sub-dimension scores of the SWBS and the SCSS. It is recommended to determine the needs of the caregivers along with patients receiving hemodialysis treatment and to plan appropriate comprehensive education programs and interventions accordingly.