Background:

The number of people suffering from chronic kidney disease undergoing hemodialysis in Portugal has been increasing over the last decade, highlighting the need to assess the quality of life of these patients.

Objective:

To assess the quality of life of patients with chronic kidney disease undergoing regular hemodialysis.

Methodology:

A quantitative, cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted using the Kidney Disease Quality of Life Instrument (KDQOL-SF Version 1.3). The non-probability convenience sample consists of 268 patients aged 25 to 90 years undergoing regular hemodialysis in seven clinics in Portugal.

Results:

The Dialysis staff encouragement (82.46) and social support (77.49) dimensions had the highest scores. Male patients had higher scores in the physical functioning (p = 0.023),bodily pain (p = 0.011), and emotional well-being (p = 0.020) dimensions. This sample had statistically significant lower scores in all domains of the 36-Item Health Survey (SF-36) than the general Portuguese population.

Conclusion:

It is essential to develop strategies to improve the quality of life of patients with chronic kidney disease.

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