Health-related quality of life with KDQOL-36 and its association with self-efficacy and treatment satisfaction in Korean dialysis patients

This study was conducted to measure the level of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and to reveal the association of self-efficacy
and treatment satisfaction with it in Korean dialysis patients.

The study subjects were 237 patients receiving either hemodialysis (HD) or peritoneal dialysis (PD) from two university hospitals,
from February to June in 2010. We investigated HRQOL using the Korean version of Kidney Disease Quality of Life Short Form
36 (KDQOL-36), and self-efficacy and treatment satisfaction by self-administrative questionnaire and their dialysis-related
variables by reviewing clinical records. The associations of self-efficacy and treatment satisfaction with HRQOL were assessed
using multiple linear regression analysis.

The mean HRQOL results were as follows: Physical component score (PCS) was 39.1 ± 8.5, Mental component score (MCS) 44.6 ± 6.8,
symptom/problem list was 67.6 ± 17.1, effects of disease score was 58.5 ± 19.6, and burden of disease score was 41.1 ± 28.4.
Between PD and HD patients, we could find significant difference only in the symptom/problem list. After removing confounder’s
effects by multivariate analysis, respectively, treatment goal self-efficacy and treatment management self-efficacy were significantly
related with all 5 domains, except PCS. Treatment satisfaction was significantly related with PCS, MCS, and effects of kidney
disease.

Patients’ self-efficacy and treatment satisfaction could influence their HRQOL. Regular and systematic monitoring using KDQOL-36
and interventions to increase self-efficacy and treatment satisfaction should be considered in dialysis care in Korea.