Waiting for a heart or lung transplant: Relatives' experience of information and support

Maternal experiences of caring for a child with a ventricular assist device

The purpose of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of maternal experiences of caring for their child with a VAD at home as a bridge to transplant. A descriptive, qualitative study was conducted via telephone-recorded guided interviews. Participants were caring for or had a child with a VAD between 4 and 16 years old. Data collection occurred over a 12-month period. Using the snowball sampling technique, a purposeful sample of mothers (n = 6) was consented and completed the interview. The data were analyzed using an iterative process of thematic analysis. Five themes emerged: physical modifications, the loss of independence, the emotional rollercoaster, support from others, and transitions on and off the device. We introduced new evidence about sleep, contraception, and heart transplantation, and how VAD therapy impacts childhood development. The mean duration of VAD support was 263 ± 170 days. Five children had heart transplants by the time of interview. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first qualitative study in the US that explores maternal experiences of caring for a child who is living at home with a VAD. VAD therapy is a novel approach to managing advanced heart failure among children and presents unique challenges when caring for them at home. Results provide insight into the education, physical environment, and support needed by parents.

Muslim transplant recipients' family experiences following organ transplantation

Background

Despite the importance of family and its relationship to positive transplant outcomes, little is known about family experiences following organ transplantation from the perspective of the transplant recipients. The literature is also devoid of information that describes the family experiences of Muslim transplant recipients.

Aims

The purpose of this study was to describe Muslim transplant recipients' family experiences following organ transplantation.

Methods

A hermeneutical phenomenological approach was employed to determine the emergent themes present in the data. The sample was composed of 12 Muslim organ transplant recipients (heart, kidney and liver) living in Iran. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with each participant.

Results

The primary constitutive pattern that emerged from the interview data was 'Altered Family Relationships' and three themes: fear in relationships, abnormal relationships, and the family at the centre of organ transplant issues.

Conclusions

There are several important findings in this study, notably that Muslim transplant recipients describe their family experiences following organ transplantation as 'altered' and not as they were pre-transplant. More research is needed that focuses on the family experience post-transplant, and how Muslim transplant recipient families are impacted by the transplant experience.

The Effects of Religious and Cultural Beliefs on Muslim Transplant Candidates During the Pretransplant Waiting Period

Background:

Awaiting organ transplantation can be stressful, and pretransplant candidates’ religious and cultural beliefs can influence how they adapt to the stress. While little is known about the effect religious and cultural beliefs have on the pretransplant waiting period, virtually nothing is known regarding whether and how Shia Muslim patients’ religious and cultural beliefs facilitate more positive patient outcomes while they await transplantation. Therefore, it is important for nurses and other health care providers to understand transplant candidates’ experiences dealing with the stressors that present themselves during the pretransplant waiting period, especially how their religious and cultural beliefs affect their adaptation to the stressors.

Aim:

The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experience of Shia Muslim organ transplant candidates regarding how their religious and cultural beliefs affect their adaptation to the pretransplant waiting period.

Sample:

A purposeful sample of 11 Shia Muslim organ transplant candidates who were on an organ transplant waiting list in Iran (kidney,n= 4; heart,n= 4; liver,n= 3) was recruited.

Method:

A qualitative research design using the hermeneutical phenomenological approach was utilized in this study. In-depth unstructured interviews were conducted by one of the authors (ZS) in different locations across Iran.

Results:

Data analysis led to the development of six themes: “the misty road of organ transplantation,” “to accede to organ transplantation despite religious conflict,” “one step away from death,” “the master key of liberation,” “fear of the unknown,” and “reliance on God.”

Nursing Implications:

The findings of this study will help nurses understand the religious and cultural meaning associated with stressors experienced by Shia Muslim patients awaiting organ transplant. This information can assist nurses to develop plans of care that include patient-specific interventions that take into consideration the patients’ religious and cultural beliefs.

Conclusion:

Shia Muslim patients awaiting organ transplantation experience feelings that are often in conflict with their religious and cultural beliefs. However, the patients’ reliance on God during the pretransplant waiting period facilitated healthier attitudes regarding transplantation.

Experiences of supportive care when waiting for a lung re-transplantation

Objectives:

Lung transplant patients and their next of kin share the experiences of illness but little is known in the face of a lung re-transplantation. To describe patients’ and next of kin’s experiences of supportive care while awaiting lung re-transplantation and the objective was to highlight a small group with special circumstances and needs.

Methods:

Using qualitative content analysis, seven adult patients and seven next of kin were consecutively selected from a regional lung transplantation centre and individually interviewed shortly after decision about lung re-transplantation.

Results:

The experiences of supportive care were captured in one main category: ‘once again haunted by death’ and three sub-categories: ‘when life turns and death once again snorts down your neck’, ‘the importance of information’, and ‘perceptions of support’. A complex interaction between the experience of waiting, and communication patterns, emotional states, and social support was shown.

Conclusion:

This study provides insights into the complex interaction between the experience of waiting for a second lung transplant and communication patterns, emotional states, social support and social roles between patients, next of kin, healthcare professionals, and the health and social welfare system. There is a need for developing supportive care programme to achieve the best possible care.

The meaning of being in uncertainty after heart transplantation - an unrevealed source to distress

BACKGROUND

As many as 88% of heart transplant recipients (HTRs) suffer from psychological distress. Both psychosocial factors and physical health are associated with increased psychological distress. However, the causes and impacts of psychological distress are unclear. HTRs strive for a sense of control over their health and daily lives in order to improve their psychological well-being. Perceived control was found to be related to the patients' construction of normality, their emotional state, as well as their thoughts and feelings of uncertainty about the future.

AIM

An in-depth exploration of the meaning of uncertainty during the first year after a heart transplantation (HTX).

METHOD

A phenomenological-hermeneutic method was employed. Interviews were conducted with 14 patients, four women and ten men, with a mean age of 51 years (range: 28-67 years).

RESULTS

Being in uncertainty after HTX means losing a sense of coherence, which shatters the HTR's whole worldview. The HTRs search for meaning and strive for coherence, which is no longer achievable. By using a nursing theory, we understand that uncertainty should be seen as a natural state among HTRs. It constitutes the starting point from which the HTRs can reorganise their self-structure and find a new view of life. When striving for normality, certainty and predictability (i.e., the healthcare professional's perspective), we block or prolong this process, thus causing distress among HTRs because they are unable to create a new orientation in life.

CONCLUSION

This study presents a hypothesis of the primary cause of psychological distress after HTX and provides a useful framework for how to approach this condition.