Vivências dos homens submetidos à hemodiálise acerca de sua sexualidade

objective: to study the experiences of male patients undergoing hemodialysis about their sexuality. methodology: this is an exploratory, descriptive research with a qualitative approach. the research was conducted in the first half of 2004, and the subjects were eight male patients who were undergoing hemodialysis. the data collection instrument was a semi-structured interview, using categorical analysis. the research setting was a nephrology department in a municipality located in the southern region of brazil. results: based on the analysis, the following categories arose: physical and emotional aspects about the treatment, experiences of chronic renal patients about their sexuality, strategies for dealing with limitations related to sexuality, and sexuality of chronic renal patients after hemodialysis. discussion: the physical exhaustion was attributed to hemodialysis. the experience of chronic renal patients about their sexuality is closely linked to healthy sexual relationship, both biologically and emotionally. patients seeking strategies to minimize or even solve problems related to their sexuality, as a result of the chronic condition, are better able to overcome these obstacles. the subjects showed changes with respect to sexuality; however, the research showed that patients seek strategies to improve or restore their sexual needs within the bio-psychological dimension. results: this study is relevant because there is a need to train professionals to work with human sexuality, perceiving chronic renal patients with a holistic vision.