Impact Of Emotional Regulation of Haemodialysis Patients On Caregiver Burden And Family Resilience

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is a leading global cause of morbidity and mortality, affecting approximately 843 million people. As CKD progresses to end-stage kidney disease (ESKD), treatments such as haemodialysis (HD) or transplantation become necessary, with HD being the most common in India. HD patients endure physical and psychological challenges, including fatigue, pain, demanding treatment regimens, and a reduced life expectancy. Approximately 45% of HD patients experience psychological issues, mainly depression and anxiety, emphasizing the need to understand emotional regulation in this group.

Emotion regulation refers to the extrinsic and intrinsic processes that help monitor, evaluate, and modify the intensity and duration of emotional reactions.  Maladaptive strategies are linked to poorer quality of life, while adaptive ones show positive outcomes. Understanding how the patient’s emotional regulation strategies affect their caregivers is important given the patient’s high level of dependency.

Caregivers are those individuals who offer physical, emotional, and social support without financial compensation. They face substantial caregiver burden, including physical strain, emotional pressure, social constraints, and financial difficulties.

This intense caregiving role are often undertaken by close family members and can end up disrupting the family system. However, some families demonstrate the ability to adapt, recover, and grow through adversity showing family resilience.

Hence, the aim of this study is to explore the specific role of emotion regulation in HD patients, and it’s relationship with caregiver burden and family resilience.