Journal
JOURNAL OF PSYCHOSOMATIC RESEARCH
Volume 65, Issue 2, Pages 191-200Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2008.02.008
Keywords
coping; illness representations; Leventhal; self-care behavior; Self-Regulatory Model
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
objective: To assess the utility of Leventhal's Self-Regulatory Model (SRM) to predict self-care behavior with regard to dietary, medication, and fluid regimes in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. Methods: In a prospective study, ESRD patients treated via hospital-based haemodialysis (N=73) were screened for cognitive deficits and completed questionnaires that enquired about illness perceptions.. coping strategies, knowledge of kidney disease, and psychological distress at Time 1. Physiological proxy measures of self-care behaviors regarding diet (serum potassium levels), fluid intake (mean and standard deviation of interdialytic weight gain), and medication (serum phosphate levels) regimes were collected 3 weeks later at Time 2. Results: Illness representations (emotional and timeline perceptions) predicted self-care behaviors with regard to diet and medication. Emotion-focused coping strategies predicted higher levels of variation in adherence to fluid restrictions. Younger males were less likely to adhere to the fluid restrictions. Conclusions: The SRM has predictive utility. Psychological interventions should focus on alleviating disease-specific distress and challenging erroneous timeline perceptions in order to increase adherence to dietary and medication regimes in ESRD patients. A more specific measure of coping for ESRD is required to clarify the role of coping strategies in this population. Younger, male patients should be targeted for extra support with fluid restrictions. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available