Predictors of quality of life among kidney transplant recipients

Abstract

Chronic kidney disease is a major global public health problem with increasing mortality rates worldwide. Although kidney transplantation is the most appropriate long-term treatment, patients still face physical and psychological complications that affect their quality of life. Therefore, investigating the factors associated with quality of life is essential for developing more comprehensive and effective approaches to patient care guidelines.

This predictive correlation research aimed to 1) examine the quality of life among kidney transplant recipients, 2) investigate the relationships between post-transplant time, self-management, social support, and quality of life of patients after kidney transplantation, and 3) identify predictors of quality of life of patients after kidney transplantation. The sample consisted of 125 kidney transplant recipients who were followed up at the kidney transplant clinic, Srinagarind Hospital. Data were collected between March and April 2024. The research instruments included a demographic data questionnaire, a kidney transplant patient quality of life questionnaire, a self-management assessment scale, and a social support questionnaire. Reliability test revealed that Cronbach's alpha coefficients of the kidney transplant patient quality of life questionnaire, the self-management assessment scale, and the social support questionnaire were 0.91, 0.83, and 0.93, respectively. Demographic data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The relationships between variables were determined using Pearson correlation. Predictive factors were analyzed using stepwise forward logistic regression.

The results indicated that the quality of life among kidney transplant patients was generally high (mean=19.19, SD=1.76). Self-management and social support were significantly positively correlated with quality of life (r=.60, p<.001; r=.54, p<.001, respectively). However, post-transplant duration was not statistically correlated with quality of life (r= .03, p=.76). Factors that could predict the quality of life of kidney transplant patients were self-management (β=.45, p<.001) and social support (β=.32, p<.001), which together could predict 44.2% of the variances in quality of life (=.442, p<.001). Therefore, nursing interventions should focus on enhancing self-management and social support to improve the quality of life among kidney transplant recipients.