Correlation between Religious Beliefs and Quality of Life in Dialysis Patients Referred to Shahid Rahnemoon Hospital, Yazd-2012

Introduction: Unfortunately, there is no significant plan to improve the quality of life of chronic renal failure patients. Although they need mental support as well as physical rehabilitation but all current endeavors are focused on increasing their physical ability and not the mental aspect. The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between religious beliefs and quality of life in dialysis patients. Materials and Methods: In this analytical descriptive study, the data were gathered by a questionnaire about patientsʹ belief and quality of life of 56 patients, 20-60 years old, who were under dialysis treatment in Shahid Rahnemoon Hospital in Yazd. A questionnaire (SF36) collected the data related to the condition of the patient and his/her life quality, and another questionnaire was used to investigate the religious believes which include 66 questions regarding to religious cultures. The data were analyzed by SPSS 16 software putting the descriptive statistics into use. T-test and non-parametric tests were completed for data analyzing (with the level of significance of 5). Results: In 24 women and 32 men who were under venous dialysis treatment, the correlation between the degree of religious belief and life quality was significant (r= 0.34, P=0.01). Moreover, the correlation between scores of religious belief and life quality in patients experienced 4 to 8 years of dialysis & correlation between score of religious belief and life quality among those who had chronic disease were significant( r= 0.36 & r= 0.62 respectively ,P < 0.05). Conclusion: The results of the study showed that due to the influence of religious belief on life quality of patients who were under dialysis treatment, their life quality can be improved through the proper program of teaching religious belief.