Background: Since the number of hepatitis patients requiring liver transplantation is on the rise and the waiting list for such operation is long, the quality of life of these patients will be affected. Providing any care and health services requires an understanding of these patients' real experience and their specific needs. Objectives: Therefore, this study aimed to explore the life experiences of hepatitis patients waiting for liver transplantation. Methods: This was a qualitative study with content analysis approach. Participants in this study consisted of 10 hepatitis patients on the waiting list for liver transplantation, who were selected through purposive sampling. For data collection, semi-structured interviews were conducted and data were analyzed using Landman and Grantham and constant comparison methods. Results: The participants included 10 hepatitis patients with a mean age of 41.4 years, and 34.8 months average time being on the waiting list. The main themes of "life turmoil (being troubled for the family and living with hardship), "searching" (searching for information and search for a change in treatment approach), spirituality (trust and faith in God and relaying on Imams (Tavasol)), and "new concerns" (unhappiness in life and challenge and consequence of waiting) were extracted from the data. Conclusions: Hepatitis patients' experiences included family economic problems, exacerbation of the disease and its complications, lack of adherence to treatment regimen, and physical and psychosocial problems. Knowing and understanding the issues and problems of these patients can create positive changes in their time when waiting for liver transplantation, and can empower them in this difficult time so they can have a more successful transplantation.
Quality of life of patients in need of liver transplantation is impaired due to many reasons, and this affects the pre and post outcomes and complications of transplantation. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a care program on the quality of life of patients awaiting liver transplantation. This quasi-experimental study was conducted in 2017 on 117 patients awaiting liver transplantation in Imam Khomeini Hospital of Tehran. Based on entry criteria, the samples were selected purposefully, and their quality of life was evaluated. Then, a care program in 6 one-hour-long sessions for 2 months was implemented for them. This program was according to patients' needs, including disease and transplant process education with using multiple educational methods. The data collection tool was a quality of life questionnaire (1999), which was completed before and six weeks after the intervention. The results showed that the overall quality of life and its entire aspects improved after the implementation of care program in patients waiting for liver transplantation, and the most change was related to the aspect of systemic (P<0.01). Also, the demographic variables had no significant relationship with the aspects of quality of life. The results of this study indicated a positive effect of the care program on improving the quality of life of patients awaiting liver transplantation. Eliminating the problems of these patients requires the attention and support of planners and the cooperation of managers in order to develop care programs that can be used by healthcare professionals, especially nurses.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.