SENSE OF COHERENCE AND LIFE SATISFACTION : PATIENT AND SPOUSAL ADAPTATION TO HOME DIALYSIS

OBJECTIVE: This research examined the adaptation of 24 male patients and their spouses to end-stage renal disease and home/self-care dialysis. The research was conceptualized within the T-Double ABCX Model. Selected predictors included sense of coherence (SOC) (the degree to which one feels confident that life's challenges will be comprehensible, manageable, and worthy of a commitment of self), age, and socioeconomic status (SES). SETTING: Eleven of the 22 dialysis centers in the province of Ontario, Canada were invited to participate. Of these 11, seven agreed to participate. SAMPLE: Twenty-eight couples who were using home PD. DESIGN: A descriptive, correlational research design was used with data collected by mailed survey. METHOD: Adaptation, the health outcome of interest, was measured using perceived satisfaction with life (SWL). RESULTS: There was a large, positive relationship between patients' and spouses' SOC and adaptation. However, further analyses challenged the construct validity of the SOC instrument. A small, positive relationship was found between age and adaptation. CONCLUSION: Further research regarding the SOC is required prior to use in nursing practice.