Examination of anxiety levels of patients receiving chronic hemodialysis treatment depending on the duration of receiving dialysis treatment

The research was conducted as a descriptive cross-sectional study to examine the anxiety levels of patients receiving chronic hemodialysis treatment depending on the duration of dialysis treatment. The population of the study consisted of patients receiving treatment in hemodialysis units in State Hospitals in Çankırı province and districts, and the sample consisted of patients who met the inclusion criteria. Data were collected using a Personal Information Form consisting of 20 questions including sociodemographic and disease-related characteristics of the patients and Beck Anxiety Scale (BAS). In this context, data were collected from 155 participants. The averages of the Beck anxiety scale according to various information and whether the difference between these averages was significant were analyzed by independent groups t test and one-way analysis of variance, and the change in responses according to the duration of hemodialysis was analyzed by chi-square. After the analyses, the anxiety rate was found to be 15%. The anxiety level of those with a hemodialysis duration of 0-1 year was found to be significantly higher than the other groups (p<0.05). This rate was found to be low mostly due to the effect of elderly patients, and it was found that the patients with high anxiety rate were mostly young patients. It is recommended that multicenter studies on the psychosocial effects of treatment should be conducted with larger sample groups and the results should be evaluated and anxiety-focused interventions should be included in treatment planning. Key Words: Anxiety, Duration of Hemodialysis, Nursing