Coping strategies and quality of life among patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD)

The present study describes CAPD patients' coping strategies and quality of life. A descriptive-comparative design was chosen and a consecutive series of patients (n=26) was included. Data collection was performed through questionnaire and interview. Coping was measured by the Jalowiec Coping Scale and quality of life by the Swedish Health-Related Quality of Life Survey (SWED-QUAL). The main results show that an optimistic coping style was the most widely used by both men and women and this style was also considered to be the most effective in terms of dealing with stressful treatment aspects. Significantly more men than women found emotive coping to be less effective. Compared to a sample from the general population, CAPD patients had lower values on all SWED-QUAL sub-scales except those that tapped family functioning and emotional health. In general, women evidenced a more negative perception of their health than did men. With respect to emotional well-being/negative aspect, the CAPD patients achieved higher scores than the general population. The findings suggest targets for nurse practitioners' provision of support and information and in assisting patients to better utilize adequate coping methods to enhance their quality of life.