Employment among patients with end stage renal disease on maintenance dialysis at a tertiary care centre in North India- a cross-sectional study.

Abstract Background Employment is associated with a host of benefits including better self esteem, quality of life and financial independence. Maintenance dialysis is a major barrier to employment in patients with ESRD. This observational cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the proportion of patients suffering from ESRD on maintenance dialysis who were employed and various factors associated with loss of employment. Methods Patients suffering from ESRD, aged 18 to 65 years, who were on maintenance dialysis for ≥ 3 months were included. Their clinical and demographic characteristics, employment status before dialysis and change in employment after initiating dialysis was recorded and various factors associated with change in employment were analyzed. Results We observed that 39 (15.6%) out of 225 study subjects were employed on maintenance dialysis, whereas 155 (68.9%) patients were employed before initiating dialysis. Patients who lost employment were significantly younger and a higher proportion were on HD. Being on maintenance PD, residing in a nuclear family and at a shorter distance from the dialysis centre, self financing of treatment and professional employment category were associated with a greater likelihood of retaining employment after initiating dialysis. Conclusion This study revealed that only a small proportion of patients on maintenance dialysis are employed and a large number of patients lose employment after initiating dialysis. Nuclear family, PD as dialysis modality, professional category job before initiating dialysis, self-financing of treatment and living closer to dialysis centres was associated with retaining employment on maintenance dialysis.