Introduction
depression, HD, chronic illness
CHRONIC ILLNESS, SECONDARY
Quality of life (QOL) for patients on hemodialysis (HD) is significantly worse than the general population and is among the worst of any chronic illness [Self-care, the active participation of patients in their treatment, is critical for the physical and psychosocial well-being of patients on HD and involves adherence to medications, dialysis, diet, activity, self-monitoring and physician follow-up [In patients on HD, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)-based interventions delivered by psychologists have successfully treated depression (a major component of QOL) and led to secondary improvements in self-care [We developed a behavioral-education intervention to improve QOL and self-care in patients on HD. The intervention involves presenting a one-page dashboard that displays recent QOL results and self-care indicators to the HD treatment team and then developing an individualized treatment approach that combines self-care education with cognitive-behavioral (CB) strategies through 8 sessions delivered chair-side by a HD social worker over 12 weeks. The purpose of this pilot study was to determine the feasibility of its implementation and its impact on QOL and self-care.