The Relationship Between Self-Management, Symptom Status, and Quality of Life in Hemodialysis Patients

Purpose: The objective of this study is to assess the quality of life, self-management, and symptom levels of hemodialysis patients and to ascertain the correlation between them.Methods: The study was conducted between September 2024 and May 2025 in the hemodialysis units of a state hospital and a university hospital in a province in Turkey. The study, which had a descriptive and correlational design, was completed with 142 patients undergoing hemodialysis treatment. Data collection tools included the Patient Identification Form, Chronic Illness Self-Management Scale, SF-36 Quality of Life Scale, and Dialysis Symptom Index. Data were collected from patients in person.Results: In this study, it was found that hemodialysis patients had low quality of life and a moderate symptom burden. Patients’ treatment adherence sub-dimension scores were higher than those of other sub-dimensions. Moreover, a significant negative relationship was observed between patients’ symptom index scores and both quality of life and disease self-management, while a positive relationship was found between quality of life and self-management. The self-stigma and treatment adherence sub-dimensions of the quality of life and self-management scales explained 53.4% of the variance in the symptom index. Conclusion: This study found that an increase in symptom burden reduced quality of life and self-management in patients. Our findings will guide future interventions aimed at reducing symptom burden and improving self-management and quality of life in patients, providing direction for studies involving nurses and other healthcare professionals.