Effect of narrative writing on quality of life in chronic renal failure patients underwent hemodialysis

Background: Chronic renal failure is the most common chronic disease affects the physical and psychological health of suffers and their quality of life (QOL). Recently, narrative writing is considered as a new approach to improve the problems of these patients, moreover, there is a paucity of information in this regard; hence, the current study was conducted to determine the effect of narrative writing on the QOL of hemodialysis patients. Methods: In a clinical trial, 28 hemodialysis patients of Imam Reza Hospital of Kermanshah were enrolled to the study in 2015. They are divided into two groups: case and control through randomization. The information was gathered through the short form-36 QOL questionnaire before and after intervention. Data were entered into SPSS-22 and analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings: The mean of QOL score for case and control groups was 94.92 and 97.53, respectively, before intervention, which increased to 98.85 in case group and declined in control group to 90.80. The analysis of covariance test showed a significant difference between two groups after intervention (P = 0.004). Conclusion: The results indicate narrative writing can enhance the QOL of hemodialysis patient; however, it is required to carry out more studies with higher sample size.