Psychosocial assessment of the patient on chronic peritoneal dialysis: an overview.

The psychosocial assessment of the patient with end-stage renal disease is critically important because (1) there is growing evidence that the psychosocial status of the patient impacts medical outcomes and (2) the objective of therapy is to maximize a patient's sense of well-being and quality of life. This is particularly true for patients receiving a home-based therapy such as chronic peritoneal dialysis. The present review outlines a possible structure and format for performing psychosocial evaluations for patients maintained on chronic peritoneal dialysis. But, each facility must design its own format, making sure that the critical domains discussed in this review are addressed.