Self-care self-efficacy, depression, and quality of life among patients receiving hemodialysis in Taiwan

The purpose of this study is to examine relationships among self-care self-efficacy, depression, and quality of life in 160 patients receiving hemodialysis. The study is a descriptive, correlational design. Measures include Strategies Used by People to Promote Health, the Geriatric Depression Scale, and the Quality of Life Index. Results indicate that self-care self-efficacy and depression are the significant predictors of quality of life after controlling for the effect of age. Self-care self-efficacy explains 47.5% of the variance (β=0.52, p<0.001) and depression (β=−0.29, p<0.001) explains an additional 5.5% of variance in quality of life. The study provides important information for health care providers as they design interventions for patients receiving hemodialysis.