Impact of pharmaceutical care intervention on health-related quality of life in hemodialysis patients in Benghazi

Abstract

Hemodialysis patients suffer from poor health-related quality of life which results in a higher risk of hospitalization and mortality. This study investigates the importance of pharmaceutical care and role of pharmacist for hemodialysis patients to optimize drug therapy, minimize drug related problems and thereby improving their health-related quality of life. The study was conducted to evaluate the impact of pharmaceutical care interventions on health-related quality of life of hemodialysis patients in Benghazi, Libya. Randomized control study was carried out after getting an ethical approval from the committee of the hospital. Health-related quality of life was assessed using SF-36 instrument for all the patients (n = 80). Among them, 40 patients were received the normal care along with brief medication review and counselled by pharmacists for two months. Then, health-related quality of life was assessed again for those 40 patients who received the pharmaceutical care. Data was analyzed using an appropriate methods. The results showed that the quality of life for hemodialysis patients was poor in both physical and emotional aspects. After implementation of appropriate pharmaceutical care to the patients, their quality of life improved significantly. Health-related quality of life is an important determinant of treatment effectiveness in dialysis patients.