Illness perceptions of Turkish Cypriot patients receiving haemodialysis: A qualitative study
Author
Keskindag, Buse
Farrington, Kenneth
Oygar, Duriye
Mertan, Biran
Hucker, Abigail
Sharma, Shivani
Attention
2299/23264
Abstract
Background: Illness perceptions refer to cognitive appraisals that help patients understand and make sense of their condition. Although their importance in health behaviour and outcomes has been evidenced, less is known about cultural influences on mental representations of kidney failure amongst patients receiving haemodialysis in different settings. Objective: To explore the illness perceptions of Turkish patients receiving haemodialysis in North Cyprus (Turkish Cypriots). Design: A qualitative study involving individual semistructured interviews. Participants: Fourteen patients receiving haemodialysis, recruited from three state hospitals in North Cyprus. Approach: All interviews were conducted in Turkish, audio‐recorded, and transcribed verbatim. They were analysed inductively in the original language using reflexive thematic analysis. Once the analysis was completed, it was translated into English. Quality assurance was integral to the research process to retain semantic equivalence. Findings: Three themes were developed. “Illness appraisal” highlighted a lack of factual knowledge about kidney failure and how this is related to attempts at sense‐making, whilst retaining hope for the future. “Life‐changing effects” centred around the negative consequences of haemodialysis across multiple domains (e.g., emotional and physical).“Active coping strategies” focused on mechanisms that patients adopt to manage the burden of haemodialysis, particularly approaches that are culturally rooted.