None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Liver transplantation is established as the most effective therapy for patients who have end stage liver failure. Criteria to measure therapeutic success from a medical perspective are well established. Recently more attention has been focused upon quality of life issues - including societal reintegration, community engagement and employment, and their relationship to medical outcomes. At Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital there have been 223 patients who have received a liver transplant since 1994. This study will include all liver transplant who have received a liver transplant between 1994 and 2008. The aim of this study is to identify the relationship between specific psychosocial factors and the patient’s return to employment following liver transplant. The psychosocial factors to be addressed have been categorised into three groups, ‘interpersonal’ ( e.g. family and social support, strengths), ‘intrapersonal’ (e.g. motivation level, self esteem, evidence of depression ) and ‘environmental’ (e.g. income, housing, education). Patients will be asked questions in relation to these factors; the analysis will determine the degree of relationship between the factors and the incidence of return to work following transplantation. Hypotheses: Patients who have positive psychosocial influences will be more likely to return to employment post transplant. We plan to interview all patients who have had a liver transplant. Outcome measures include: Questionnaire covering demographic data, pre and post transplant employment details, income and educational levels. The questionnaire will also address psychosocial factors, which may influence return to work.
Interventions
Post transplant employment and psychosocial factors assessment questionnaire.
Each patient will be interviewed once by the researcher after signing a consent form and having viewed a research information letter. The questionnaire will be completed with the researcher to determine the patient's pre and post transplant employment status and explores psychosocial factors and demographic data. The instrument is a questionnaire used in USA research by Saab S et al (2006) modified and expanded to suit
Post transplant employment and psychosocial factors assessment questionnaire. Each patient will be interviewed once by the researcher after signing a consent form and having viewed a research information letter. The questionnaire will be completed with the researcher to determine the patient's pre and post transplant employment status and explores psychosocial factors and demographic data. The instrument is a questionnaire used in USA research by Saab S et al (2006) modified and expanded to suit the Australian context and the aims of this research. The study will be retrospective and applied to participating liver transplant recipients from 1992 to 2009.
Sponsors
Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
16 Years to 70 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
All transplanted patients who are of employable age and more than six months post-operative.
Exclusion criteria
Participants must be cognitively intact and not medically dependent.
Outcome results
None listed