Psychological benefits for children and adolescents who have undergone transplantation of the heart from participation in the British Transplant Games.
The British Transplant Games are held annually for children and adults who have received transplanted organs. The aim of our pilot study was to determine whether participation in such an event had an impact on psychological well-being. We asked 26 children participating in the Games to complete a specifically designed questionnaire before and after the event. The 13 questions covered areas such as state of mood, perceived physical health, fatigue, anxiety, and confidence. There were mean improvements over time on 10 of the 13 questions, and the change in overall score was significant (p = .036). For the majority of young people, participation in the Transplant Games was associated with a positive impact on psychological functioning in the short term. Further evaluation is now required to determine whether such benefits are maintained in the longer term.
Wray
Jo
J
Children's Outpatient Department, Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust, Harefield Hospital, Harefield, Middlesex, United Kingdom. j.wray2@rbht.nhs.uk
Lunnon-Wood
Tracy
T
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D016027:Heart Transplantation / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D002666:Psychology, Child; D013177:Sports; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom