[Helplessness, social support and self-care behaviors among long-term hemodialysis patients].

The purpose of this study was to explore the helplessness, social support, and self-care behavior of hemodialysis patients. A total of 131 hemodialysis patients were obtained by purposed sampling at five hemodialysis centers in Tainan, Taiwan. The findings were as follows: (1) the standardized score for self-care behavior was 73.54, a medium-to-high rating level. (2) The standardized score for helplessness was 59.54, a medium rating level. Helplessness was significantly positively correlated with diet choices and fistula care behavior. (3) The standardized score for support of family and relatives was 56.92, and that for support of medical staff was 68.53. Self-care behavior was significantly positively correlated with support of family and relatives; it was not significantly correlated with support of medical staff. (4) There were two models to predict self-care behavior. In Model 1, support of family and relatives and occupational status accounted for 16.6% of variance in total self-care behavior. In Model 2, support of family and relatives and age accounted for 13.6% of variance in total self-care behavior. In view of the study results, nursing interventions are recommended, and suggestions are made for further research in this field.