With an increase of the population of elderly people in modern society due to advances in medicine and healthcare facilities, there is also an increase in the incidence and duration of chronic illnesses. Similarly, advanced age is considered a significant determinant of depression and poor quality of life. Additionally, the provision of therapies relevant to chronic diseases addresses the issues beyond the concept of cure, bringing to the center the need for a dignified quality of life of patients. An increased interest in quality of life is observed in patients who suffer from chronic diseases, including those with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). End-stage kidney disease patients have a high burden of disease affecting their quality of life and dramatically shortening their life expectancy. Therefore, exploring quality of life issues among such patients becomes an essential task in the management of this population. This volume is written by researchers with a well-rounded understanding of the characteristics and impact of ESKD and provides a penetrating practical discussion to date of alternative approaches for comprehensively measuring the burden of end-stage kidney disease. Outcomes Assessment in End-Stage Kidney Disease focuses on the impact of this complex and exacting condition on patients and those that care for them. It also examines the economic impact of ESKD and the healthcare policy implications of this disease. It also brings comprehensive and thoughtful insights into the issues confronted by patients with ESKD to readers interested in nursing or medical caregiving, geriatrics and health psychology.

Since 1972, many victims of endstage renal disease (ESRD) have received treatment under a unique Medicare entitlement. This book presents a comprehensive analysis of the federal ESRD program: who uses it, how well it functions, and what improvements are needed. The book includes recommendations on patient eligibility, reimbursement, quality assessment, medical ethics, and research needs. Kidney Failure and the Federal Government offers a wealth of information on these and other topics: The ESRD patient population. Dialysis and transplantation providers. Issues of patient access and availability of treatment. Ethical issues related to treatment initiation and termination. Payment policies and their relationship to quality of care. This book will have a major impact on the future of the ESRD program and will be of interest to health policymakers, nephrologists and other individual providers, treatment site administrators, and researchers.

First Published in 1994. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

First edition edited by Janel Parker in 1998

This thoughtful new book presents strategies for helping end-stage renal disease patients and their families deal with the psychosocial aspects of the chronic long-term illness. Technological advances in the treatment of this disease have offered much hope for improved quality in living which has led caregivers to have a greater concern for preserving the quality of life of their patients. In Psychosocial Aspects of End-Stage Renal Disease leaders in the field of many disciplines share knowledge and reveal problems that are still evident to them in the confrontation with this potentially fatal illness. Five comprehensive sections devote special attention to the different areas of concern for the psychosocial well-being of end-stage renal disease patients. The impact of renal disease on family relationships is covered by examining issues of family responses and coping measures such as marital and family reactions to home and hospital dialysis treatment. Ethical issues in treatment are explored, including the ethics of treatment refusal and a Jewish perspective on kidney transplants. Relations between staff and patients and a timely section on renal disease and special populations, particularly the elderly and AIDS patients, make up the final two sections of this informative volume. Professionals in all allied health disciplines will benefit from this important volume as it demonstrates a model approach, if not the definitive one, for the treatment of the psychosocial aspects of end-stage renal disease as well as other chronic illnesses.