THE QUESTION I posed was: "Will family study at the time a patient is accepted into home hemodialysis training provide useful information to the renal staff and alert them to social-emotional difficulties to come?"
This is a report of the development, use, and effectiveness of a family study procedure designed for the Kansas City Artificial Kidney Center. A number of such hemodialysis centers exist which train patients with renal failure to perform their own dialysis, using machines permanently installed in their homes. The patient and an assistant, usually a family member, must master a complicated and dangerous task. The separated ends of a vascular shunt implanted in the patient's arm are attached to the dialysis machine and his blood is run through the machine. The assistant must monitor the dialysis so that emergency situations (rupture of the coils, shock) may be quickly recognized and corrected. Not only is this particular