Young adults’ experiences of having a liver transplant
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A grounded theory investigation to understand young adults’ experiences of having a liver transplant.
IRAS ID
140957
Contact name
Rachel Falk
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Salomons Centre for Applied Psychology
Research summary
Literature searches have found limited previous research in this area. Therefore such a study could be beneficial in providing information about young adult’s experiences of receiving a donated organ. The meaning that a young person gives to their new organ is likely to impact on their psychological adjustment post transplant, assimilation of such an experience into their identity, and their medical adherence.
Non-adherence to medical care, in adolescents post-transplant, is thought to be greater than or equal to 50% (Dobbels et al., 2005). Significant decreases in adherence after transfer to adult services are often observed (Annunziato et al., 2007), making adolescents/young adults a very vulnerable population. Gaining a greater understanding into this area may inform clinical practice to support young adults and adolescents in their medical regime, and ultimately save lives.
The King’s College Hospital Liver Transition Service was set up specifically to care for young people moving on from paediatric liver services into the adult clinics. We aim to recruit a sample of 10-20 English speaking, outpatients aged 16-24 years, which represent the population normally seen by the Transition Unit. Recruitment will take place at the clinics over the twelve-month period from January to December 2014.
The interviews will take place in a confidential setting at King’s College Hospital or at the participant’s home. Participants will be interviewed once or twice for up to ninety minutes. The interviews will cover their experiences of illness, transplant and treatment. A qualitative analysis of the data will be conducted using the Grounded Theory method to develop an explanation of the findings.Participants will be asked to complete a drawing of their liver/experience, to aid the discussion/interview. They will be asked to complete a brief questionnaire relating to the usefulness of this novel method
REC name
North West - Preston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/NW/0111
Date of REC Opinion
27 Mar 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion