Psychosocial Level of Patients Undergoing Solid Organ Transplantation

Organ transplantation has been developed over past 100 years. It is a process which is challenging for patients and his/her family members. It requires lifelong commitment which results in psychosocial distress. Hence along with the clinical evaluation of the patient psychosocial assessment is also important.

The objectives of the study were to identify the psychosocial level of patients undergoing solid organ transplantation.

A quantitative descriptive study was done among 50 patients who were planned for undergoing solid organ transplantation at AIMS, Kochi. A standardized questionnaire, Stanford Integrated Psychosocial Assessment Tool was used for assessing the psychosocial level along with the questionnaire for socio demographic and clinical variables.

The study results shows that among 50 subjects 36(72%) were males and 14(28%) were females. Majority 47(94%) of them had good social support. Out of 50 subjects 37(74%) are waiting for kidney transplantation and 13 (26%) are waiting for liver transplantation. With regard to psychosocial levels 68% were belongs to category of good candidates. The mean score of the study was 16.14. There was statistically significant association were found between education and monthly income (p<0.005)

The patients who are undergoing organ transplantation or on transplantation treatment are connected with long term emotional tension, experiencing strong anxiety, depressive disorders and so on. Hence the psychosocial assessment is very essential for transplant patients to cope up with the life after transplantation.