Spirituality/ Religiosity used as a resource coping by patients with chronic kidney disease

Abstract

Introduction: Kidney disease, as a non-transmissible chronic condition, has a significant impact
on routine, autonomy, social aspect and psychological health of its carriers. Given the above,
during the treatment process, it is very common the use of religious coping as one of the coping
skills. Thus, this study aims to analyze the use of spirituality and religiosity as coping resources
and their impact on treatment adherence processes in hemodialysis. Method: This is a
quantitative research, which used two instruments for data collection, firstly the scale of
evaluation of coping modes, followed by the application of the Spirituality Evaluation Scale. A
survey was conducted in electronic medical records to survey the socioeconomic profile of the
participants and to verify the assiduity in the hemodialysis sessions. Finally, an interview was
conducted with the health team, in order to verify the perception of the participating
professionals regarding the adherence and self-care of patients during the course of treatment.
Thirty patients were selected and submitted to the instruments mentioned above. The study
occurred in the dialysis unit of the Regional Hospital of Sobradinho - DF. Results: The data
suggest that most participants are male ( n= 17 , 57%), with family income between one and two
minimum wages ( n= 20, 67%), literate ( n= 16, 53%), Catholic ( n= 15, 51%) and in
hemodialysis from one to two years ( n= 16, 54%). Also, it is understood that religious coping is
used recurrently by most patients, regardless of the quality of the pattern of adherence observed,
following the same pattern, it is observed, the presence of religious beliefs and spiritual
optimism in all categories of adherence to treatment. Conclusions: Therefore, it is inferred that
spirituality and religious coping are resources for organizing psychological health, and may be
considered facilitators in the process of adaptation to illness.