Patients were recently greeted at Chromalloy American Kidney Center (CAKC) to what Brenda Bingel, RN, MSN, calls “Lobby Days,” an event organized to bring more attention to the occurrence of depression in dialysis patients.
Brenda Bingel, Nurse Administrator CAKC, helped organize Lobby Days to raise awareness of depression in dialysis patients
Brenda, Nurse Administrator at CAKC, Kelly Lazarus, LMSW, and Jackie Holschen, LCSW, decorated the waiting room lobby with posters detailing common symptoms of depression experienced by dialysis patients, how it impacts their lives and what they can do to treat it. Kidney-friendly snacks and refreshments were served and gifts were handed out.
Lobby Days was held over two days so both dialysis rotations could take part in the event. “The bulletin board posters were a hit!” says Bingel. “The patients loved the snacks and most of the reading material was handed out.” See pictures of the posters on the Division of Nephrology’s Facebook page.
Depression is the most common psychological problem in patients undergoing dialysis, especially in the first year of dialysis. Patients with more emotional problems have poorer outcomes and higher mortality.
Common symptoms of depression:
- Depressed mood most of the day
- Markedly decreased interest or pleasure in almost all daily activities
- Significant weight loss or gain (more than five percent of body weight in a month)
- Increase or decrease in appetite
- Insomnia or hypersomnia
- Psychomotor agitation or retardation
- Fatigue or loss of energy
- Feeling of worthlessness or excessive or inappropriate guilt
- Diminished ability to think or concentrate, or indecisiveness
- Recurrent thoughts of death (not just fear of dying) or suicidal ideation without specific plan or attempt
For information on managing depression in dialysis patients, see this article in DaVita Medical Insights.