Introduction:

Chronic kidney disease is an important public health problem worldwide, as it is associated with high morbidity and mortality and high cost of treatment.

Objetive:

To describe the demographic and clinical profile of people undergoing hemodialysis in the southern of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

Methods:

This is an observational, cross-sectional study. Data was collected in 2016 and 2017. Non-probabilistic sample for convenience with all people undergoing hemodialysis from six renal replacement therapy services in the southern region of Rio Grande do Sul. Descriptive analysis performed using the software Stata. Opinion of the Research Ethics Committee nº 1,386385 with CAAE nº 51678615300005316.

Results:

The 314 people on hemodialysis are aged ≥ 60 years, are men, white, with low income and education, live with their family and have children. They live in urban area, married, time of diagnosis and time in treatment ≤ 5 years, have expenses with chronic kidney disease, have not been transplanted, have already been hospitalized, the presence of multimorbidities and are not in the waiting list for a kidney transplant.

Conclusion:

The descriptive analysis of the demographic and socioeconomic profile can offer an important subsidy for all levels of health care for developing strategies aimed at the promotion and prevention of health problems in different population groups. In addition, potential nursing interventions in vulnerable groups can increase the opportunity to access the transplant program.