The effect of peer support groups on physical health status in patients treated with hemodialysis

patients who are under hemodialysis also experience a lot of physical problems which can lead to a reduction in their quality of life. Peer support groups are a kind of social supports that in which peers who have similar experience present some advice to others to enhance their quality of life. This clinical trial study with two case and control groups was conducted on 55 patients treated with hemodialysis hospitalized in vasee hospital sabzevar in 1392. Participants in the case group, attended in 2 hours sessions during 8 weeks. Issue of sessions was planned based on patients’needs and interests. Research tools were demographic and the Section of Physical health status "Kidney Disease Quality of Life Short Form (KDQOL-SFTM)". For data analysis, descriptive statistics, independent t-test and paired t test was used. Attending in peer support group was resulted in a significant difference in physical health status between the case and control group (p< 0.0001).also, there was observed a significant difference in physical health after and before intervention(p< 0.0001). Results showed that using a peer support group can have some positive effects on promoting physical health status in patients treated with hemodialysis that finally can enhance their quality of life.