Determining the Correlation Between Sexual Satisfaction and Loneliness Levels in Patients with Hemodialysis in a Muslim Community

Patients living with hemodialysis (HD) will be adapting to chronic renal failure and its many psychosocial and physiological problems. The aim of this study is to determine the correlation between sexual satisfaction and loneliness levels in patients with HD in a Muslim community. This descriptive correlation study was conducted in the hemodialysis units between August 2008 and February 2009 in the Faculty of Medicine at Ondokuz MayA +/- s University and in a private hemodialysis centre. A total of 131 patients with HD in Northern Turkey were included in this study. The data in the research was collected by using a demographic, clinic information questionnaire, the Golombok-Rust Inventory of Sexual Satisfaction (GRISS) and the UCLA Loneliness Scale. Descriptive statistics, an analysis of variance test, the Tukey test, a Chi-square test and contingency coefficient statistics were used to summarize the data. In this study it was found that there is a statistically significant correlation between five items (sexual frequency, communication, satisfaction, avoidance and sensuality), which are included in both male and female GRISS forms, and loneliness level (p < 0.05). If patients with HD are better supported and cared for, these negative physiopsychosocial consequences might be prevented or at least decreased.