Partners' concerns, needs and expectations in ESRD: results of the CODIT Study

Abstract

Background: The incidence of chronic kidney failure, like that of many chronic diseases, is on the increase with most patients today being treated at home.

Methods: The CODIT Study, based on a self-report questionnaire returned by 1815 respondents, set out to assess the impact of this disease and its treatment on the lives of patients' partners.

Results: Transplantation significantly lightens the load on this population, with two in three partners of patients still on dialysis judging the overall impact on their own daily life as major, compared with only one in four of the partners of transplanted patients. Partners of patients on dialysis devote more time to the patient, are more likely to experience negative practical, relational, social, psychological and professional consequences and they judge their own quality of life as significantly lower than do the partners of transplanted patients. Nevertheless, this is not to say that a significant fraction of the latter group does not experience profound compromise in many areas of life.

Conclusions: This study has identified clear differences in outlook and attitudes between dialysis and transplanted patient's partners. Quality of life of spouses of transplanted patients was significantly better. Indeed transplantation appears often like an outcome. On the contrary, needs in both groups were more material than psychological. Having highlighted needs and concerns of the spouses, it might be possible to fulfil them in order to optimize patient management.