64 Pak J Med Sci 2011 Vol. 27 No. 1 www.pjms.com.pk Original Article Quality of life and social support in Hemodialysis patients Hat i ce Tel 1 , Havva Tel 2 ABSTRACT Objective: To determine the quality of life and social support of hemodialysis patients. Met hodology: This study sample consisted of 164 patients receiving hemodialysis. Data were collected with a personal information form, the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short Form and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support questionnaire. Result s: It was found that the quality of life of hemodialysis patients is low. Women and married patients had high PCS and retired patients had lower MCS. Married patients had high a specific person support and retired patients had high friends support. Conclusion: Hemodialysis patients have a low Qol and there is a close relationship between quality of life and social support. Enabling hemodialysis patients to identify and make effective use of the sources of social support will help them to increase their quality of life. KEY WORDS: Hemodialysis, Quality of Life, Social Support. Pak J Med Sci January - March 2011 Vol. 27 No. 1 64-67 How to cite this article: Tel H, Tel H. Quality of life and social support in Hemodialysis patients. Pak J Med Sci 2011;27(1):64-67 1. Hatice Tel, PhD, Associat e Professor. 2. Havva Tel, PhD, Associat e Professor. 1-2: Dept. of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Cumhuriyet University, Sivas, Turkey. Correspondence: Havva Tel, PhD, Associate Professor Dept. of Nursing,Faculty of Health Sciences, Cumhuriyet University, Sivas, Turkey. E-mail: havvatel@yahoo.com havvatel@cumhuriyet.edu.tr * Received for Publication: May 10, 2010 * Revision Received: May 21, 2010 * Revision Accepted: October 1, 2010 INTRODUCTION End-stage renal disease (ESRD) is a life-threaten- ing condition and survival can be maintained only with renal replacement therapy. Treatment options for the disease often involve either long-term dialy- sis or kidney transplantation. 1 Furthermore, the complications of ESRD, its treatment and co-exist- ing diseases have been found to have a significant impact on the physical health of patients. It is well documented that the health status of the renal patients population is worse than that of the general healthy population; for this reason, the assessment of quality of life (HRQOL) of ESRD patients has received considerable attention. 2-4 People with ill- nesses have different coping responses and varied coping resources, such as social support. 5 Social support is defined as all kinds of financial and spiritual support that an individual receives from one’s close environment. 6 Several studies have dem- onstrated that social support is associated with im- proved outcomes and improved survival in several chronic illnesses, including cancer and end stage renal disease. 7,8 It was reported that social support have a significant effect on general well being of dialysis patients and their adaptation to treatment. 9 This study was carried out in order to determine the quality of life and the social support status of hemodialysis patients. METHODOLOGY This study was conducted with 164 patients receiving hemodialysis treatment in a university hospital’s hemodialysis unit. Permission to conduct the study was received from hospital administration. After patients were given information about the