Illness perception and its relationship with nursing care behaviors in hemodialysis patients

This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between hemodialysis patients’ illness perception and nursing care behavior. This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted between January and July 2022 at a high-volume outpatient hemodialysis center with 40 dialysis machines. Consecutive (convenience) sampling was used, and 223 patients undergoing hemodialysis were included. Data were collected using a sociodemographic form, the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (BIPQ), and the Caring Behaviors Inventory (CBI)-24. Independent samples t -test, Analysis of variance, Pearson correlation analysis, and multiple linear regression analysis were applied. Total scores were 51.08 ± 5.58 for the BIPQ and 4.82 ± 0.45 for the CBI-24, and a statistically significant positive correlation was found between them ( r = 0.214; P = .001). A significant negative correlation was found between the CBI-24 assurance subscale and the cognitive subscale of the BIPQ ( r = –0.152; P = .023). Significant positive correlations were observed between the knowledge and skill subscale and the emotional ( r = 0.234; P = .001) and cognitive ( r = 0.145; P = .030) subscales, between the being respectful and emotional subscales ( r = 0.192; P = .004), and between the connectedness and emotional subscales ( r = 0.275; P = .000). Education status, access type, having care help, years of dialysis treatment, and BIPQ explained 24.4% of the variance ( F = 9.887; R 2 = 0.244; P = .000). As the duration of illness increased, patients’ illness perception was negatively affected. These findings highlight the importance of individualized and holistic nursing interventions to improve illness perception and strengthen treatment adherence in hemodialysis patients.