{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,3]],"date-time":"2026-07-03T22:27:45Z","timestamp":1783117665843,"version":"3.54.6"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"17","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2019,8,25]],"date-time":"2019-08-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1566691200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has considerable effects on the quality of life of patients, impairing everyday activities and leading to lifestyle changes, as well as affecting body image and intimate relationships. Our aim was to describe the experience of female patients with CKD at an ambulatory dialysis unit regarding body changes and sexuality. A qualitative phenomenological study exploring how 18 female patients, treated at the dialysis unit of a Spanish hospital, perceived their sexuality and intimate relationships. Data were collected using in-depth interviews, researcher field notes, and patients\u2019 personal letters. A thematic analysis was performed. Four main themes arose from the data describing the experience of how CKD impacts body changes and sexuality: (a) Accepting body changes, (b) The catheter, the fistula, and body image, (c) Experiencing a different sexuality, and (d) The catheter, the fistula, and sexuality. Patients experienced changes in their body, perceiving it as being bloated or deformed, together with overall decline. The catheter and\/or the fistula triggered changes in the way the women dress in an attempt to hide port sites. Women experience sexuality changes, affecting sexual desire and satisfaction. The presence of catheters was found to be the most cumbersome during sexual acts.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph16173086","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2019,8,26]],"date-time":"2019-08-26T04:38:23Z","timestamp":1566794303000},"page":"3086","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":20,"title":["Body Changes and Decreased Sexual Drive after Dialysis: A Qualitative Study on the Experiences of Women at an Ambulatory Dialysis Unit in Spain"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Miriam","family":"\u00c1lvarez-Villarreal","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Dialysis Unit. Hospital Universitario Infanta Cristina, Avenida 9 de Junio, 2, 28981 Parla, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5801-4857","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Juan Francisco","family":"Velarde-Garc\u00eda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nursing, Spanish Red Cross, Instituto de Investigaci\u00f3n Sanitaria Gregorio Mara\u00f1\u00f3n (IiSGM), Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, 28009 Madrid, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lourdes","family":"Chocarro-Gonzalez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Palliative Pediatric Care Unit. Hospital Universitario Infantil Ni\u00f1o Jes\u00fas, Avenida de Men\u00e9ndez Pelayo, 65, 28009 Madrid, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jorge","family":"P\u00e9rez-Corrales","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Research Group of Humanities and Qualitative Research in Health Science of Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (Hum&amp;QRinHS), Avenida Atenas s\/n, 28922 Alcorc\u00f3n, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4824-5915","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Javier","family":"Gueita-Rodriguez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Research Group of Humanities and Qualitative Research in Health Science of Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (Hum&amp;QRinHS), Avenida Atenas s\/n, 28922 Alcorc\u00f3n, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0669-6339","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Domingo","family":"Palacios-Ce\u00f1a","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Research Group of Humanities and Qualitative Research in Health Science of Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (Hum&amp;QRinHS), Avenida Atenas s\/n, 28922 Alcorc\u00f3n, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2019,8,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"1","article-title":"Kidney disease. 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