This is a cross-sectional study including 148 patients selected from Miaoli , Taichung and Changhua areas by purposively sampling. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among life
meaning , death attitude and life satisfaction of hemodialysis patients. The questionnaires included basic information, life meaning scale , attitudes toward death scale , life satisfaction scale , social support scale and symptom distress scale as tools. Data was analyzed by SPSS 12.0. Independent samples t test , ANOVA and Person correlation were used to test the relationship among life meaning, death attitude and life satisfaction of hemodialysis patients.
The results were as follows: 1.life meaning: The average score of life meaning among the study samples was low. It represented the patients’ physical and psychological status were unhealthy. It might have the tendency toward the existence of empty.The aspects of the meaning of life belong to the lower degree.
(1)the coming generations’ accomplishments , (2)the whole meaning of life , (3)the value of oneself. The hemodialysis patients’s meaning of life was not significant to gender , marital status , age , number of years in hemodialysis , education , physical condition , and religion , etc.2.death attitude: The research found that among the attitudes toward death that hemodialysis patients , Neutral Acceptance and Escape Acceptance are higher , Approach Acceptance is mediocre , Death Avoidance is lower , and Fear of Death is the lowest. The hemodialysis patients’s attitudes toward death were no significant differences on gender , marital status , having children or not , age , number of years in hemodialysis , education , physical condition , and religion , etc.3.life satisfaction: The satisfaction of life belongs to the upper-middle degree.
(1)social relation , (2)mental health , (3)physical health. There are remarkable differences in the mental health level of childlessness or not.4. The correlation between the meaning of life and the attitude toward death. The research shows the whole meaning of life , the value of oneself and the coming generations’
accomplishments , the fear of death and Escape Acceptance are negative correlation.
The correlation between the satisfaction of life and the meaning of life.
The research shows the satisfaction of life , physiology health , mental health and social relation are positive correlation to the whole meaning of life , the value of oneself and the coming generations’
accomplishments.
The research shows the satisfaction of life , physiology health , mental health and social relation are negative correlation to the fear of death.
The research shows the satisfaction of life , physiology health and social relation are positive correlation to the Neutral Acceptance.
The research shows the satisfaction of life are negative correlation to the Escape Acceptance.5.symptom distress: The distress of symptom belongs to the lower-middle degree. The most symptom distress in hemodialysis patients were urination change , fatigue , dry mouth , skin itching and insomnia.6.Social support: The distress of Social support belongs to the upper-middle degree. (1)Emotional support ,
(2)Information support , (3)Appraisal support , (4)Friendship support , (5)Instrumental support or Tangible support. In major social support by their family, than and medical providers. There are Emotional support , Information support , Appraisal support , Friendship support , Instrumental support or Tangible support of their family are higher and friends of hemodialysis patients are low. Based on the findings, this research offers a reference for hemodialysis patients of psychological counseling , and related institutions were provided for future researches.
