title: Psychosocial aspects of children and families treated with hemodialysis.
abstract: The aim of this study was to analyze the selected psychosocial aspects of chronic kidney disease in children treated with hemodialysis (HD).
  
  
  
  The study included 25 children treated with HD aged 2 to 18 years and their parents. Data concerning the illness and socio-demographic parameters was collected. We used the Paediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) for patients and for their parents the PedsQL-proxy version, General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), Berlin Social Support Scales (BSSS), and the Caregivers Burden Scale (CBS) to evaluate health-related quality of life (QoL) of HD children and their primary caregivers.
  
  
  
  In the PedsQL test, the QoL of HD children was lower than in healthy children. Children treated with HD assessed their QoL on the PedsQL questionnaire higher than the primary caregivers, on all subscales as well as an overall health-related QoL. Scoring below 2 on the GHQ-12 test was reported in 56% of mothers, which may indicate that psychological symptoms have intensified. There was no correlation between BSSS, CBS, and GHQ-12.
  
  
  
  The assessment of QoL in pediatric patients would allow for the earliest possible identification of their nonsomatic problems and irregularities. This could, consequently, contribute to improving QoL in both children with chronic kidney disease and their families.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Nephrology, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Medyńska
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Nephrology, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Danuta
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zwolińska
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Kidney Transplantation and Hypertension, Children's Memorial Health Institute, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Ryszard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Grenda
authors.affiliation: Polish-American Children's Hospital, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland.
authors.forename: Monika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miklaszewska
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Pediatrics, Nephrology and Endocrinology, Silesian Medical University, Zabrze, Poland.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Szczepańska
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Kidney Transplantation and Hypertension, Children's Memorial Health Institute, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Agnieszka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Urzykowska
authors.affiliation: Polish-American Children's Hospital, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland.
authors.forename: Katarzyna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zachwieja
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Nephrology, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Katarzyna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kiliś-Pstrusińska
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D006435:Renal Dialysis / Q000379:methods*; D051436:Renal Insufficiency, Chronic / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Children; hemodialysis; parents' perceived burdens; quality of life