Predictors of Quality of Life in Hypertensive Nephropathy

Researchers, led by Yen-Yen Chen, MSN, RN,  conducted a study designed to identify the relationships among disease knowledge, self-efficacy, and quality of life in patients with hypertensive nephropathy. The results were reported online in Clinical Nursing Research [doi.org/10.1177/10547738211073396].

The study was a cross-sectional and correlational design. The cohort included 213 participants identified by convenience sampling from the outpatient department of nephrology at a regional teaching hospital in Taiwan. The study utilized the Hypertensive Nephrology Knowledge instrument, the Chronic Kidney Disease Self-Efficacy instrument, and the Medical Outcome Study Short Form-12, and stepwise multiple regression analysis to quantify the explanatory power of each significantly-correlated independent variable associated with quality of life.

Results of the study suggest that the higher the disease knowledge, the better the self-efficacy, and the better the quality of life. The key predictor of quality of life was self-efficacy.