Psychological Health, Coping and Cultural Values among Haemodialysis Patients in a National Hospital in Ghana

Abstract

Coping with chronic health conditions has been attributed to numerous factors including spiritual/religious, collective and ritual behaviours of people with varied cultural backgrounds. The study examined psychological health, coping and cultural values among Ghanaians living with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and undergoing haemodialysis therapy. 125 respondents were recruited from the Dialysis Unit of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, Ghana. The study adopted the sequential mixed method design which comprised a cross-sectional survey and a semi-structured interview. Tests administered assessed coping, religiosity/spirituality and psychological health. The results indicated a significant positive correlation between psychological symptoms (depression, anxiety and somatization) and religiosity/spirituality among haemodialysis patients. Cognitive/emotional debriefing of the Africultural Coping Systems Inventory is the most useful coping method for CKD patients. Furthermore, the results revealed that CKD patients who have spent four years or more on dialysis showed significantly fewer psychological symptoms than those who have been on the treatment for less than one year. Moreover, findings from the interviews showed that initial experiences of haemodialysis patients at the time of diagnosis included sadness/depression, uncertainty about the future, worries about how to deal with high cost of treatment, discomfort with restrictions and stigmatization.