Find in Library

Dialysis causes many psycho-social problems in patients with chronic renal failure and decreases their quality of life by increasing their anxiety. We aimed to determine the influence of artistic activities on quality of life and reducing or eliminating dialysis anxiety.Methods. Among 180 hemodialysis patients, 8 patients were randomly selected as a study group and 8 patients as a control group. We performed our theater rehearsals in 16 sessions, two hours per week. State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), STAII and  Social Anxiety Scales (SAS) were employed in both groups before and after the play. Results. The means of the eighth-month SAS fear and avoidance measures of the study group were found to be significantly lower than the control group and significantly lower than the baseline. The mean difference of the initial eighth-month SAS fear and avoidance in the study group was statistically significantly higher than the control group.Initial and eighth month SAS fear and avoidance difference averages of the study group were found statistically significantly higher than the control group.Conclusions. We determined that the therapies to be done with art have an important place in relieving or reducing anxiety in hemodialysis patients. In addition, it was the opinion that our patients would make positive contributions to their quality of life. However, further studies are needed to demonstrate whether theater rehearsals reduce anxiety in hemodialysis patients.