title: Racial/ethnic differences in illness, perceptions in minority patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis.
abstract: This study examined whether racial/ethnic differences in illness perceptions exist among patients on maintenance hemodialysis. One hundred sixty-one patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD) undergoing maintenance hemodialysis (20% African Americans, 44% Hispanics, 9% Filipinos, and 27% Koreans) completed the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire. Korean participants had higher emotional disturbance than their counterparts, whereas African-American participants had higher negative perceptions of personal intervention or medical treatment controlling their disease. This study indicates that patients from different racial/ethnic backgrounds undergoing maintenance hemodialysis may perceive their disease differently. This phenomenon could affect clinical outcomes and may require different therapeutic approaches.
authors.affiliation: Chung-Ang University, Red Cross College of Nursing, Seoul, Korea. younkim234@gmail.com
authors.forename: Youngmee
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Lorraine S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Evangelista
authors.forename: Linda R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pavlish
authors.forename: Joel D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Kopple
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004509:Education, Nursing, Continuing; D005006:Ethnicity; D006801:Humans; D015141:Los Angeles; D008875:Middle Aged; D008913:Minority Groups; D044469:Racial Groups; D006435:Renal Dialysis