Abstract

Background: The final stage of kidney disease is a severe form of chronic kidney disease, and the inelastic reduction of renal function is the result. Hemodialysis is the most common form of treatment. Despite the increase in life expectancy, there are psychological disorders and pressures such as death anxiety and depression. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the effect of family-centered empowerment on the level of death anxiety and depression in patients undergoing hemodialysis. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, 30 patients undergoing hemodialysis referring to Imam Khomeini Hospital in Zabol city were randomly selected and divided into intervention and control groups. Data were collected using Temple death and Beck Depression Inventory. At first, the questionnaires were completed by samples and then the intervention group received a family-centered empowerment model in 2 3-hour sessions within a week; no intervention was performed for the control group. One week after the intervention, the questionnaires were completed again. Mann-Whitney U and Wilcoxon test were used for data analysis. SPSS software version 22 was used. Findings: According to the findings, there was a significant difference between the level of anxiety of death before and after the intervention in the intervention group (P = 0.001). However, there was no statistically significant difference in the control group (P = 0.21). There was a significant difference in the death anxiety variable (P = 0.014) before the intervention and the intervention group (P = 0.014). After the intervention, this difference was significant (P = 0.001). The findings showed that there was a significant difference between the level of depression in the intervention group and intervention after intervention (P = 0.001). However, the control group did not show a statistically significant difference (P = 0.86). Also, there was no significant difference in the depression variable before intervention between the intervention and control groups (P = 0.051), but after intervention, this difference was significant (P = 0.001). Conclusion: Several studies suggest death and depression anxiety in hemodialysis patients. Therefore, considering the positive effects of family-centered empowerment model on the level of death anxiety and depression in hemodialysis patients, nurses should be advised in this study. To increase the level of mental health and thus improve the quality of life, it is important to pay more attention to the role of families in empowering these patients.