Psychosocial issues in pediatric organ transplantation: the parents' perspective.
The process of organ transplantation for a child has a profound impact on the entire family. Parents are faced with a number of psychosocial stresses many of which are unique in a pediatric hospital setting. We report the information provided by parents who have participated in a support group established for those with children undergoing heart and liver transplantation. Descriptive information gathered throughout the past 4 years in this group suggests that there are three specific stages that these families must endure: preoperative, perioperative, and long-term postoperative. The major psychosocial obstacles for families at each stage of the transplant process are described in detail. This information provides the health care professional with a basic framework to understand and provide guidance to the families of transplant patients.
D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D004644:Emotions; D005102:Health Expenditures; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008016:Life Change Events; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D011184:Postoperative Period; D013997:Time Factors; D014180:Transplantation