Quality of Life in Parents of Refugee Children on Hemodialysis: A Case Study

Authors : Sevda Tüzün Özdemir, Hülya Karakartal
Pages : 652-663
View : 62 | Download : 180
Publication Date : 2025-12-26
Article Type : Other Papers
Abstract :This study aims to examine the impact of providing care to refugee patients undergoing chronic kidney failure treatment on the quality of life of their parents, with a focus on the social, economic, and psychological dimensions of the caregiving role. This study, which employed a phenomenological approach as a qualitative research method, was conducted in April 2022 with a foreign parent registered with the İzmir Provincial Directorate of Migration Management. The parent was responsible for the care of a refugee family member undergoing hemodialysis treatment in İzmir. The collected data were analyzed using the qualitative analysis software MAXQDA Analytics Pro 2020. This study has revealed that the burden of care negatively impacts quality of life in multiple dimensions. Socially, due to language barriers and the constant care needs of their children, they felt trapped at home, deprived of social support, and isolated. Psychologically, she had to cope with the trauma of losing a child, the fear of death stemming from the inability to find a suitable organ donor for her other child, and the exhaustion caused by the constant treatment routine; she sought refuge in her faith to deal with these feelings. Economically, both she and her husband were unable to participate in the workforce due to their caregiving responsibilities and refugee status, resulting in a lack of income. In particular, within the framework of her role as a mother and traditional gender norms, N.M. gave up her own professional and personal life and devoted herself entirely to caring for her children. This situation led to her becoming more disadvantaged socially, economically, and psychologically. A significant contribution of this study is that it represents one of the first investigations into the quality of life of caregivers for refugee hemodialysis patients, both in Turkey and globally.
Keywords : Kronik Böbrek Yetmezliği, Hemodiyaliz, Mülteci, Bakım Verici, Yaşam Kalitesi.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE URL