Influence of Socio-aesthetic Care on the Quality of Life of Hemodialysis Patients

The report of the Epidemiological and Information Network in Nephrology counted 44,978 hemodialysis patients in France in 2017, with more than 93% of them attending 3 sessions per week.

This multi-weekly recourse to the healthcare system in the context of substitution treatment constantly reminds patients of their disease and has a strong impact on their quality of life.

The 2011 REIN quality of life report showed that the quality of life of patients with renal failure, particularly dialysis patients, is impaired, particularly in its physical and mental components. A recent comparative study (van Sandwijk et al., 2019) comparing hemodialysis patients with hematological cancer patients under chemotherapy supports these data.

The June 2013 report of the "Etats généraux du rein", an initiative of patient associations, called for the improvement of quality of life to be made a priority and for the possibility of using supportive care and complementary non-drug techniques to be proposed.

Socio-aesthetic care, defined "as the practice of aesthetic care for people who are suffering or vulnerable", has found its place in hospitals as a complementary discipline to medical care, particularly in oncology.

We believe that in order to improve the overall quality of life of hemodialysis patients, the quality of the experience of each session must be improved. In this perspective, the repetition of socio-aesthetic care performed during dialysis sessions could contribute to the overall improvement of the quality of life.

A national survey (Saghatchian et al., 2018) on the impact of socio-aesthetic care in oncology confirms the positive perception of this care among cancer patients. Two studies carried out in hemodialysis (Bullen et al., 2018; Unal & Balci Akpinar, 2016) using complementary techniques, such as acupuncture, massage, or foot reflexology, highlight an impact on sleep, fatigue and quality of life.

The experience of implementing socio-aesthetic care in our hemodialysis unit also leads us to believe that they positively influence the perception of the session, and therefore perhaps the quality of life measured with a validated scale, the KDQOL (Kidney Disease Quality Of Life).

Our research therefore focuses on the effectiveness of social and aesthetic care during hemodialysis sessions to improve the quality of life of the hemodialysis patient.