Relationship between the comfort level of chronic renal patients and sociodemographic and clinical variables

Abstract

Objective: To assess the association between the comfort level of chronic hemodialysis patients with sociodemographic and clinical variables using the General Comfort Questionnaire. Method: Cross-sectional study, with a quantitative approach, considering 180 chronic hemodialysis renal patients. Two instruments were used: one for sociodemographic and clinical variables; and the General Comfort Questionnaire, Brazilian version. Mann-Whitney’s, Kruskal-Wallis’s, and Spearman’s tests were used for data analysis. Results: The overall comfort level of patients was 78.16%. The socio-cultural domain presented the lowest level of comfort and the psychospiritual the highest level. Some variables were significantly associated with the domains, such as marital status, education, and considering oneself to be anxious. Conclusion: In the four domains of comfort, it was possible to identify patients’ needs, such as the presence and intensity of pain, anxiety, constipation and type of access, making it possible to guide nurses in the systematization of care and improve the comfort of these patients.