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Background: Fatigue in patients on hemodialysis varies based on disease and treatment situations. Most studies have assessed the effectiveness of interventions based on average fatigue during the past week. However, two different types of fatigue are identified: post-dialysis fatigue and continuous fatigue. Identifying different types of fatigue and related factors may facilitate the development of more-effective, type-specific measures to reduce patient fatigue. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore fatigue patterns and predictors in patients on hemodialysis during their eight-day dialysis cycle. Methods: A perspective, observational research design was adopted. One hundred and two patients were recruited from three hospitals and one hemodialysis clinic in New Taipei City. During the dialysis, patients answered a structured questionnaire that included a demographic datasheet, Taiwanese depression questionnaire, hemodialysis social support scale, trait anxiety inventory, Pittsburgh sleep quality index, and fatigue visual analogy scale. After dialysis on each day, patients completed the fatigue visual analogy scale for a period of eight consecutive days every morning, noon, and night. Biochemical data and inter-dialysis weight gain were collected from medical charts. Results: This study found three distinct fatigue status groups: fatigue adaptation, rapid change and continuous fatigue. After the day of dialysis, fatigue level was the lowest in the fatigue adaptation group, followed by the continuous fatigue group. The rapid change group reported the highest level of fatigue. With regard to the degree of increase in fatigue after dialysis (fatigue score after dialysis minus fatigue score before dialysis), the rapid change group had the highest average increase in score after dialysis, while the continuous fatigue group had the lowest. Sleep quality, trait anxiety, and health caregiver support were also found to be predictors of group affiliation. Conclusions: Nurses can provide individual social support interventions and methods to improve sleep quality and alleviate anxiety to reduce fatigue in patients on hemodialysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The shared decision making (SDM) is an innovative, emerging clinical medical decision model in Taiwan. This model allows patients to understand the possible benefits, hazards, and risks of different treatment options and to choose the treatment option that best aligns with their values and preferences, thereby reducing patients' decisional conflicts. The survival rate of patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) has improved, in part due to the rapid development of medical technologies and treatment modalities. However, survival requires that patients face the choice conflicts associated with renal replacement therapy. All of the various renal replacement therapy treatment options impact the physical state of patients, cause changes in their daily life, and undermine their normal work and social roles. Patients often deal with conflict, uncertainty, and hesitation when they engage in making decisions about renal replacement therapy, as the course of treatment is long-term and the effects accompany the patients for the remainder of their life. This article discusses the decisional conflicts of ESRD patients in renal replacement therapy and its influencing factors. The authors propose the SDM approach to renal replacement therapy as a care reference for clinical health professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social and economic problems related to population aging are becoming increasingly prevalent in many industrialized nations. Moreover, life-related stresses is causing caregivers to become fatigued and exhausted, with some even choosing to end their life due to their overwhelming burdens of care. Evidence demonstrates that failure to cope effectively with the burdens of care greatly increases the risk of personal physical, mental, and family problems for the caregivers. Therefore, caregiver burden is an increasingly important issue and challenge for the long-term care service system. Positive psychology has been studied widely in recent years, and current related research has focused on exploring caregivers' positive coping experiences. Empirical studies indicate that caregivers overcome crisis because they acquire coping strategies and learn to adjust during the caring process. Furthermore, these articles show the successful handling of caring stress to be highly correlated with resilience. This research examined caregiver's burden and resilience. The findings suggest how nurses may identify the potential of caregivers in the caring processing and what kind of support that nurses should provide to caregivers. Further, this study elaborates on how caregivers build resilience. According to the literature, current nursing interventions should enhance caregiver's resilience. In general, this research aimed to offer a new direction for long-term care based on positive energy and caregiver resilience. It is hoped that this introduction provides insights for healthcare professionals in clinical practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kidney transplantation is the best approach for treating patients with end stage renal disease, offering patients the best chance of returning to normal health. While the techniques used in kidney transplantation surgery are mature and highly successful, there is a severe shortage of donor organs. Statistics show a serious imbalance between organ donations and patients on the waiting list for organ transplantation. Moreover, evidence from empirical studies has shown a better transplantation outcome for patients who receive living donor transplantation than for those who receive organs from cadavers. Although using relatives as donors offers an effective way to reduce the problem of organ shortage, this strategy faces many challenges and many other factors affect the promotion of living donor transplantation. This article elaborates how cultural and psychological factors, kidney transplantation awareness, and ethics and laws impact upon living kidney donations and then proposes coping strategies for promoting living kidney transplantation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When a patient aggressively receives treatment and looks forward to returning home, the prolonging of meaningful life is dificult, even with medical treatment. It is typically very challenging at this juncture for the members of the medical team to fully disclose to the patient the true extent of his / her condition and to recommend the withdrawal of life-support medical treatment. This article describes a nursing care experience with a renal cell carcinoma patient with subcutaneous metastasis. Her pain was induced by an edema and subcutaneous tumor in her lower limbs, which diminished the effectiveness of hemodialysis. During hospitalization, the mood of the patient shifted from looking forward to recovery to facing a rapidly worsening health status. Achieving a balance between ighting the disease and sustaining patient quality of life became increasingly dificult, and the patient began experiencing anxiety about dying. We use the belief of shared decision-making to guide the case in a discussion of her expectations during which primary medical care options and her choice to withdraw from hemodialysis treatment were explained. Essential oils, selected for appropriateness with her current disease stage, were used to stabilize her mood and relieve pain. In the end, we helped the patient to complete her pre-death preparations and to say goodbye to her children, parents, and siblings. As a result, the patient experienced a good death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When a patient aggressively receives treatment and looks forward to returning home, the prolonging of meaningful life is difficult, even with medical treatment. It is typically very challenging at this juncture for the members of the medical team to fully disclose to the patient the true extent of his / her condition and to recommend the withdrawal of life-support medical treatment. This article describes a nursing care experience with a renal cell carcinoma patient with subcutaneous metastasis. Her pain was induced by an edema and subcutaneous tumor in her lower limbs, which diminished the effectiveness of hemodialysis. During hospitalization, the mood of the patient shifted from looking forward to recovery to facing a rapidly worsening health status. Achieving a balance between fighting the disease and sustaining patient quality of life became increasingly difficult, and the patient began experiencing anxiety about dying. We use the belief of shared decision-making to guide the case in a discussion of her expectations during which primary medical care options and her choice to withdraw from hemodialysis treatment were explained. Essential oils, selected for appropriateness with her current disease stage, were used to stabilize her mood and relieve pain. In the end, we helped the patient to complete her pre-death preparations and to say goodbye to her children, parents, and siblings. As a result, the patient experienced a good death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) must learn and use self-management skills to control their disease and delay disease progression. Comprehension of instructions is thus critical to integrating self-management principles into daily life. In this case report, the client had difficulty implementing the behavioral changes necessary to control diet and blood sugar due to the lack of proper and sufficient information. The authors applied health literacy concepts to assess the client's knowledge and skills related to disease control and then provided health teaching at a level appropriate to the client's health literacy level. This individualized care enhanced the client's confidence and motivation to implement self-care activities. Healthcare professionals should help patients overcome barriers to reading and verbal communication to help low-health-literacy patients successfully self-manage their chronic disease. Clients may thus learn to report their symptoms clearly and accurately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obesity is often caused by an unhealthy lifestyle, which is a composite of various individual behaviors. Nurses may assist obese patients to lose weight and avoid chronic disease by identifying risky lifestyle behaviors and helping to develop improvement strategies. This article describes the nursing experience of the authors in caring for an obese patient who had made several unsuccessful attempts to reduce weight. An intervention approach was used to review the patient's lifestyle. Using self-regulation theory, the authors identified that the patient's fat-related daily behavior included: lack of exercise, high-fat diet, and daily snacks consumed even late at night. The authors also helped the patient discover the reasons underlying his fat- related behavior and his previous failed attempts to lose weight and to develop a feasible improved approach that considered such. After six weeks of care, the patient's body weight had reduced and body fat and body mass index had decreased with no relapse. The patient further lost significant weight and body fat during the three-month follow up period. The authors would like to share with nursing professionals this approach to weight loss, with the hope that this case study can contribute to medical efforts to help obese patients not only lose weight but also prevent chronic illnesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The health problems of hemodialysis patient are complex, involving physical, mental and social aspects. Those with chronic conditions must be able to resolve disease and treatment problems on their own expectation in order to maintain life quality. This case report describes how the authors applied the ADOPT (Attitude, Definition, Open mind, Planning, Try it out) problem-solving training model to care for a hemodialysis patient with poor interdialytic weight gain (IDWG) control. Nursing care was provided to this patient from November 3rd to December 8th, 2008. This case demonstrated ADOPT model efficacy at improving the patient's problem solving abilities in various daily life situations. The authors hope this theory-based intervention can help establish an innovative and effective care model for patients with chronic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]