Quality of life of living with a transplanted liver :The issue of returning to normalcy

Authors

  • Bethli Wainwright Auckland University of Technology
  • Marilyn J Waring Auckland University of Technology
  • Shirley Julich Massey University
  • Polly Yeung Massey University
  • Jenny K Green Massey University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11157/anzswj-vol30iss1id428

Keywords:

Social Work and Health Care, Quality of Life, Chronic Illness, Liver Transplantation

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Advanced technology in medical and pharmacology has increased surgical survival rates for transplant recipients. Therefore, post-transplant care is critical and tightly connected with key focuses on the recipient’s quality of life (QOL). Post-transplant QOL is multifaceted,  encompassing morbidity and personal, social, familial and environmental support for recipients. Post-liver transplantation recovery extends well beyond returning home.

METHOD: Building on Wainwright’s research  (Wainwright, 2011a, 2011b; Wainwright, Jülich, Waring, Yeung, & Green, 2016), herself a liver transplant recipient, this article reports transplant recipients’ perceptions and experiences after the first three years and discusses how they re-established function in everyday life as they adapted to their new normal to achieve QOL. The research employed interpretive description to interview transcripts and field-notes of 17 liver transplant recipients. Data were evaluated according to inductive thematic analysis. Eschewing the health-related QOL measure for its rigidity and lack of qualitative data, this research captured the lived experiences of liver transplant recipients unlike clinically  focused studies.

FINDINGS: The results showed that, although transplantation can make positive changes in their lives, recipients continued to be influenced subtly by illness which can alter their re-conceptualisation and re-definition of QOL and normalcy. The success of a liver transplant does not depend only on the physical care given; to the recipients as the spectre of future ill health and transplant failure continue to be perceived as a constant risks. Ongoing support from family, friends, and healthcare professionals are none-the-less fundamental in the post-transplantation journey.

Author Biographies

Bethli Wainwright, Auckland University of Technology

School of Social Sciences & Public Policy

Marilyn J Waring, Auckland University of Technology

Professor of Public Policy, School of Social Sciences & Public Policy

Polly Yeung, Massey University

Senior Lecturer, School of Social Work

Jenny K Green, Massey University

Lecturer, School of Nursing

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Published

2018-04-03

How to Cite

Wainwright, B., Waring, M. J., Julich, S., Yeung, P., & Green, J. K. (2018). Quality of life of living with a transplanted liver :The issue of returning to normalcy. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work, 30(1), 7–19. https://doi.org/10.11157/anzswj-vol30iss1id428

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