To assess the coping strategies used among significant family members of patients with end stage renal failure undergoing hemodialysis

Coping skills can improve caregiver's quality of life even in the difficult environment of end-of-Iife care. Coping strategies refer to the specific efforts, both behavioral and psychological’. Two general coping strategies have been distinguished; problem solving strategies are efforts to do something active to alleviate stressful circumstances, whereas, emotion-focused coping strategies involve efforts to ‘egulate the emotional consequences of stressful orpotentially stressful eventsz.

The study aimed to assess the coping strategies used among the significant family members of patient ith end stage renal failure undergoing hemodialysis and to find out association of coping strategies with elected sociodemographic variables.

An exploratory quantitative research approach was employed to collect data ”ram 30 subjects selected through purposive sampling technique.

Results revealed that all the significant family members used poor to average level of stress coping strategies. There was statistically significant (p≤0.05) association between the educational status and occupation of the significant family members of the patients with ESRD undergoing hemodialysis and heir stress coping strategies used.

It is concluded that all the significant family members used poor to average level of stress roping strategies. Stress coping strategies “not used” by majority of the subjects included practice ofyoga and meditation, reading books orgotprofessional help and refused to believe that it had happened. Majority of the subjects used the coping strategies of praying a “great deal” to cope with stress.