Self-Management and Affecting Factors in Dialysis Patients Experiencing the Earthquake in Türkiye

The present study was conducted to determine self-management and influencing factors in dialysis patients who experienced the earthquake.

The study was conducted descriptively with 125 patients receiving dialysis in a city affected by the earthquake in Türkiye. Data were collected with the "Personal Information Form" and the "Chronic Illness Self-Management Scale" (CISMS). Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Mann Whitney U, Kruskall Wallis, Spearman Correlation tests, Wilcoxon, and Linear Regression were used in the statistical analysis.

The study found that 9.6% of the patients were trapped under the rubble in the earthquake, 71.2% lost a relative, 43.8% changed dialysis centers, 36.8% missed dialysis sessions, and 51.2% could not comply with the diet after the earthquake. Women (p < 0.001), those with secondary school or lower educational levels (p < 0.05), those with another chronic disease, and those who lost a relative in the earthquake had lower health care maintenance efficacy (p < 0.05). The treatment adherence of those who adhered to the diet was higher than those who did not (p < 0.05).

It was determined that the level of self-stigma of the patients after the earthquake was low, their treatment adherence was high, and there were many variables affecting their self-management.