A Comparative Study of Treatment Adherence Among In-Center Hemodialysis Patients Based on Years on Dialysis and Demographic Factors

Shortened or missed dialysis treatments are directly associated with increased hospitalization and mortality rates among end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in treatment adherence according to the number of years on dialysis and demographic factors such as age, annual income, living status, and sex, with respect to the numbers of dialysis treatments shortened by >= 10 min and missed dialysis treatments among patients undergoing in-center hemodialysis. This study used a quantitative and nonexperimental research design to investigate the differences in adherence. Data were collected from 412 in-center hemodialysis patients through patient surveys and from the participants' medical records. Dialysis patients aged >= 60 years were found to be more adherent than those aged 18-59 years, with a statistically significant difference between the groups (p = .01, each for shortened and missed treatments). Patients whose annual income was >200% of the federal poverty level were also more adherent than those who reported less income, with a statistically significant difference between the groups (p = .01, each for shortened and missed treatments). Future studies should focus on addressing adherence by incorporating more adherence factors and different treatment modalities for ESRD.