Together We Stand: Promoting Adherence in End-stage Disease Through Familiy-Based Self-Management Intervention

The project Together We Stand, funded by the FCT with more than 200 thousand euros, aims to design and assess family-based self-management of disease interventions of hemodialysis patients and their relatives.

This is a project led by Daniela Figueiredo (CINTESIS/University of Aveiro) that will gather evidence on the effects of family-based interventions, hoping to enhance adherence to hemodialysis, improve adjustment of patients and their relatives, maintain behavioral change in the medium term, and prevent family support rupture.

Previous studies reveal factors of non-adherence to hemodialysis (HD) treatments, associated with an increase in morbidity and early mortality. Cognitive and psychological factors are predictors of (non) adherence. Family support has also been attested as an important determinant.

Interventions to improve adherence and adjustment to HD combining various psychological and educational methods have shown only modest effects. However, these interventions are patient-centered and do not address the influence of family relationships in the management of End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD).

This project aims to design and evaluate a family-centered self-management intervention for adult patients with HD and their relatives. The hypothesis is that, compared to patient-centered interventions or usual treatment, family-centered intervention will have more significant effects on the patients’ adherence to HD and on their own and their relatives’ psychosocial adjustment.

We hope to obtain evidence about the effects of family-based interventions to maximize adherence to HD; improve patient and family adjustment; maintain behavioral change in the medium term and prevent the breakdown of family support.

FCT

214.749 euros

207.137 euros

Daniela Figueiredo (PI – Investigadora responsável), Óscar Ribeiro, Constança Paúl