Exploring the relationships between health status, illness perceptions, coping strategies and psychological morbidity in a chronic kidney disease cohort

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Using the common sense model of illness adjustment, this study aimed to explore the impact of chronic kidney disease (CKD) on individual illness perceptions, coping styles and psychological well-being. METHODS: Eighty individuals (50 men and 30 women) with an average age of 62.66 years (standard deviation, 11.98) were included in the study. All participants were under the care of the Renal Unit of a metropolitan tertiary referral hospital. Twenty-nine patients (36%) had CKD stage 3b-4, and 51 (64%) had CKD stage 5 (or end stage kidney disease [ESKD]). Disease severity was evaluated using the health perceptions questionnaire, coping styles assessed with the Carver brief COPE scale..