The effect of perceived social support on the quality of life of hemodialysis patients. A preliminary study.

Purpose: Recent studies have shown that the role of social support is a predictive factor influencing the course of the disease. The current study is focused on patients’ assessment of quality of life and the relationship of the latter with perceived social support. Materials and methods: A total sample of 40 hemodialysis patients voluntarily participated in this study. Participants were recruited from two clinics in Athens and have been under hemodialysis. The measures used were the Missoula- Vitas Quality of Life Index–15 and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. For the data analysis descriptive statistics, parametric Pearson r test and Non-parametric Spearman’s rho test were used. Statistical level was set up at 0.05. Results: The results of the current study provide good quality of life of hemodialysis patients and significant statistical significance between quality of life in several domains. Conclusions: This study concludes that the participants’ assessment of quality of life is poor regarding the well-being dimension. Also, perceived social support is significantly related to quality of life