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Gray C, Arney J, Clark JA, Walling AM, Kanwal F, Naik AD. The chosen and the unchosen: How eligibility for liver transplant influences the lived experiences of patients with advanced liver disease. Soc Sci Med 2022; 305:115113. [PMID: 35690034 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2022] [Revised: 05/31/2022] [Accepted: 06/03/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Advanced liver disease is often uncurable and fatal. Liver transplant is the only curative option for patients with advanced, irreversible liver disease, but the need for new livers far exceeds the supply. Patients with the greatest need as well as the greatest likelihood of benefit, based on a complex array of biomedical and psychosocial considerations, are prioritized for transplant. The opportunity to receive a life-saving surgery no doubt has enormous consequences for patients and their healthcare providers, as does the absence of that opportunity. But these consequences are poorly characterized, especially for patients deemed poor candidates for liver transplant. Through in-depth interviews with patients living with advanced liver disease and the providers who care for them, we explore how eligibility status affects illness experiences, including patients' interactions with clinicians, knowledge about their disease, expectations for the future, and efforts to come to terms with a life-limiting illness. We describe how the clinical and social requirements needed to secure eligibility for liver transplant lend themselves to a clinical and cultural logic that delineates "worthy" and "unworthy" patients. We describe how providers and candidates discuss the possibility of moral redemption for such patients through transplant surgeries, a discourse notably absent among patients not eligible for transplant.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline Gray
- Center for Innovation to Implementation, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, 795 Willow Road (152-MPD), Menlo Park, CA, 94025, USA.
| | - Jennifer Arney
- Department of Sociology, University of Houston-Clear Lake, 2700 Bay Area Boulevard, Houston, TX, 77058, USA; VA HSR&D Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness, and Safety, Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, 2450 Holcombe Blvd Suite 01Y, Houston, TX, 77021, USA.
| | - Jack A Clark
- Department of Health Law, Policy, and Management, Boston University School of Public Health, 715 Albany Street, Boston, MA, 02118, USA.
| | - Anne M Walling
- VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, 11301 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA, 90073, USA; Department of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research University of California at Los Angeles, 1100 Glendon Ave STE 850, Los Angeles, CA, 90024, USA.
| | - Fasiha Kanwal
- VA HSR&D Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness, and Safety, Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, 2450 Holcombe Blvd Suite 01Y, Houston, TX, 77021, USA; Department of Medicine, Health Services Research and Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Baylor College of Medicine, 7200 Cambridge St., Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
| | - Aanand D Naik
- VA HSR&D Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness, and Safety, Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, 2450 Holcombe Blvd Suite 01Y, Houston, TX, 77021, USA; Department of Medicine, Department of Health Services Research, Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 7200 Cambridge St., Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
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Dasgupta K. Generosity and compliance: Recruitment-work and the pathways to participation in bone marrow donation. Soc Sci Med 2018; 206:86-92. [PMID: 29684652 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.04.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2017] [Revised: 04/09/2018] [Accepted: 04/12/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
This study examines challenges involved in recruiting bone marrow donors. Data comes from participant observation with a recruitment organization in the United States. Findings reveal that recruiters try to express bone marrow donation with common "gift of life" messaging, which emphasizes a singular event involving generosity. Potential recruits, however, respond by focusing on pain and time commitments. These concerns draw attention to the many stages and requirements involved in bone marrow donation and make issues of compliance salient. The juxtaposition of generosity and compliance creates practical difficulties for recruiters. The study contributes to existing literature, by illustrating how logistics shape altruism and gift arrangements involved in medical donation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kushan Dasgupta
- Department of Sociology, University of Southern California, 851 Downey Way, Hazel & Stanley Hall 314, Los Angeles, CA 90089-1059, USA.
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Jensen AMB. Guardians of ‘the gift’: the emotional challenges of heart and lung transplant professionals in Denmark. Anthropol Med 2016; 24:111-126. [DOI: 10.1080/13648470.2016.1193329] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Anja M. B. Jensen
- Centre for Medical Science and Technology Studies, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Oster Farimagsgade 5A 1014, Copenhagen, Denmark
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Winterbottom A, Bekker HL, Conner M, Mooney A. Choosing dialysis modality: decision making in a chronic illness context. Health Expect 2014; 17:710-23. [PMID: 22748072 PMCID: PMC5060907 DOI: 10.1111/j.1369-7625.2012.00798.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/09/2012] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are encouraged to make an informed decision about dialysis. Survival rates for dialysis are equivalent yet there is wide variation in peritoneal dialysis uptake in the adult UK population. It is unclear how much is attributable to variations in patients' preferences. Kidney function usually declines over months and years; few studies have addressed how a chronic illness context affects choice. This study describes patients' decision making about dialysis and understands how the experience of CKD is associated with treatment choice. METHOD Survey employing interview methods explored 20 patients' views and experiences of making their dialysis choice. Data were analysed using thematic framework analysis to provide descriptive accounts of how patients experienced their illness and made treatment decisions. RESULTS Patients talked about challenges of living with CKD. Patients were provided with lots of information about treatment options in different formats. Patients did not distinguish between different types of dialysis and/or have an in-depth knowledge about options. Patients did not talk about dialysis options as a choice but rather as a treatment they were going to have. CONCLUSION Most patients perceived their choice as between 'dialysis' and 'no dialysis'. They did not perceive themselves to be making an active choice. Possibly, patients feel they do not need to engage with the decision until symptomatic. Despite lots of patient information, there were more opportunities to encounter positive information about haemodialysis. A more proactive approach is required to enable patients to engage fully with the dialysis treatment options.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Winterbottom
- Senior Research Fellow, Leeds Institute of Health SciencesUniversity of LeedsLeedsUK
| | - Hilary L Bekker
- Senior Lecturer, in Behavioural SciencesLeeds Institute of Health Sciences University of LeedsLeedsUK
| | - Mark Conner
- Professor of Applied Social Psychology, Leeds Institute of Psychological SciencesUniversity of LeedsLeedsUK
| | - Andrew Mooney
- Adult Renal ServicesSt James's University HospitalLeedsUK
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