BACKGROUND: Measurement of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) enables identification of treatment-related side effects of a disease. Such aspects may negatively impact on patients' lives and should be taken into consideration in medical decision-making. In sub-Saharan Africa, research from the perspective of patients with chronic kidney disease is scarce, and it is almost non-existent in patients undergoing hemodialysis. We aimed to determine HRQOL among end-stage renal disease patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis in Ethiopia and to identify factors associated with HRQOL.

METHODS: A multi-center cross-sectional study was conducted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia directed to all patients receiving hemodialysis due to kidney failure at 11 randomly-selected government and private hospitals/dialysis centers in the capital of Ethiopia. Data were collected by trained nurses using the KDQOL-36 instrument with five subscales measuring generic and disease-specific HRQOL. Study-specific items were used to collect socio-demographic and clinical data. Factors associated with HRQOL were examined using multivariable linear regression models.

RESULTS: Four hundred eighty-one patients completed the survey through face-to-face interviews (response rate 96%; mean age 45.34 ± 14.67). The mean scores of the subscales ranged from 25.6 to 66.68 (range 0-100), with higher scores reflecting better health. Factors associated with low HRQOL included older age, female sex, no formal education, poor medication adherence, > 2 hemodialysis sessions/week, lower body mass index (< 18.5), longer duration of hemodialysis treatment (≥ 12 months), and poor social support.

CONCLUSION: Patients with kidney failure undergoing hemodialysis in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, had low HRQOL across all subscales compared to previous studies. Therefore, the implementation of guidelines is crucial to improve patients' adherence to their prescribed medications. Furthermore, establishing patient support groups and encouraging patients to use the available support resources from family members, neighbors, and friends have the potential to improve patients' HRQOL.