End-stage renal disease (ESRD) is a growing healthcare problem. It has high morbidity and mortality rates, impairs health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and results in severe fatigue. Illness...Show moreEnd-stage renal disease (ESRD) is a growing healthcare problem. It has high morbidity and mortality rates, impairs health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and results in severe fatigue. Illness perceptions such as acceptance and self-management have been studied regarding their impact on HRQOL and fatigue. The objective was to study the effect of self-management on the relationship between illness cognitions and health-related quality of life and fatigue. Hypothesized was that a higher level of self-management would mediate the relations between acceptance and physical HRQOL, mental HRQOL and fatigue. Three hypotheses were studied among a sample containing 39 Dutch dialysis patients. These participants answered several online questionnaires, such as the RAND Short Form36, Partner in Health scale, Illness Cognitions Questionnaire and Checklist Individual Strength. The results show that selfmanagement was not a significant mediator for the relations between acceptance and physical HRQOL, mental HRQOL and fatigue. The results also show that acceptance was associated with self-management and mental HRQOL. Furthermore, acceptance and self-management were found to be corelated with physical and mental HRQOL. The sample size was small, and the scores on the acceptance and self-management measurements were relatively high, which caused ceiling effects. This made it difficult to interpret the results. However, involving acceptance and self-management in interventions for ESRD patients in order to alleviate HRQOL could be beneficial for the patients. Therapies such as cognitive behavior therapy and acceptance commitment therapy use such aspects and can be used in care for ESRD patients.Show less
