"ASSESSMENT OF DEPRESSION AMONG HEMODIALYSIS PATIENTS AND OUTLIVING THE CONDITION THROUGH EFFECTIVE PATIENT COUNSELLING"

End Stage Renal Disease is a medical condition which occurs when a person’s kidney stops functioning, where dialysis is done to remove wastes from the body. Depression is identified as the most common psychological problem among dialysis patients. Hence it is mandatory to evaluate depression and to reduce its psychological symptoms through patient counselling. The intention of this study is to assess the periodicity of depression among hemodialysis patients. The prospective observational questionnaire based study was conducted for a period of 6 months in the Nephrology department of a tertiary care teaching hospital, Davangere. A sample size of 50 patients was enrolled and randomized into case and control groups. The study used specific data collection form and depression was determined using Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) questionnaire. The questionnaire was applied before and after patient counseling for both groups. At the end of the study, a significant reduction (p<0.05) in the BDI score have been observed in the case group of study population, who received patient counseling and patient information leaflet. This study tried to entitle the name of pharmacist as a patient educator who gives proper guidance to the patient and also the family members about the disease, drug management, diet and life style modifications. We conclusively state that clinical pharmacist can play a key role in reducing the depression through psychosocial interventions, thereby enhancing the health related quality of life among dialysis patients.