title: Social impact of dialysis on children and their families.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the social consequences of dialysis on children and their parents.
  
  
  METHODS
  From January through June 2012 short structured interviews with parents or caregivers of children on peritoneal dialysis (PD) or hemodialysis (HD) who were followed up at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, King Faisal Specialty Hospital and Research Center, or the Kidney Center at King Fahad Hospital were conducted. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirty six children (20 boys and 16 girls [corrected] ) and their families were included. The mean (SD) age of the children was 11.5±6.87 y, and the mean (SD) duration of dialysis was 28±11.32 mo. Only one third of the families had the opportunity to choose the modality of dialysis. Both modalities of dialysis had a negative effect on fathers' jobs in over 50% of the cases. Similarly, both modalities of treatment had a considerable impact on the quality of care provided by the mothers to other family members. There was no difference between the two modalities on the frequency of admissions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Both PD and HD had a negative impact on fathers' jobs and on the level of care provided by mothers to the rest of the family.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, jkari@doctors.org.uk.
authors.forename: Jameela Abdulaziz
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Kari
authors.forename: Majed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alzahrany
authors.forename: Basem
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: El-Deek
authors.forename: Muhanad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maimani
authors.forename: Sherif
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: El-Desoky
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D066252:Sociological Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires