Assessment of identity and quality of life in diabetic and renal transplant adolescents in comparison to healthy adolescents

The Educational Needs of Adolescent and Young Adult Renal Transplant Recipients-A Scoping Review

Renal transplantation is the gold-standard treatment for adolescents and young adults with end-stage renal disease. Despite enjoying excellent short-term outcomes, they suffer the worst rates of premature transplant function loss. Health behaviors: such as lack of adherence to immunosuppressive medications, are felt to be the major contributory factor. Understanding the educational needs of young renal transplant recipients allows healthcare practitioners to better support patients in managing their chronic disease. The aim of this scoping review was to understand what is known about their educational needs. A scoping review methodology was followed. Following an online search, study titles, and abstracts were screened for eligibility, followed by full-text assessment and data extraction. Data were qualitatively analyzed using thematic analysis. A total of 29 studies were included in the scoping review. In young people who struggled with self-management, three themes were identified (1) the Needs of the disrupted youth, (2) the Needs of the disorganized youth (3) the Needs of the distressed youth. There was a paucity of research to identify the protective factors that enable young recipients to successfully manage their health. This review outlines current knowledge of the patient education needs of young transplant recipients. It also highlights remaining research gaps that will need to be addressed with future research.

Becoming unique: A qualitative study of identity development of adolescent kidney recipients

Teenagers who receive a renal organ transplant have to take up the double challenge of identity development, the primary task of adolescence, and of overcoming the complexities of their illness. Previous qualitative studies found that adolescents felt that the organ transplant and its treatments mainly defined who they are. The relationship to the donor can be a source of concern for some of them, especially for those who received from a parent and feel an obligation to be obedient and grateful. While donor parents are known to interpret their gesture as giving life for a second time, no research to date has described how this particular gesture may influence adolescent development. The present article aims to examine and describe identity development of teenage kidney recipients in a context of parental or deceased donation. We used a qualitative design involving individual interviews with 10 adolescents. Five of them received from a donor parent, five from a deceased donor. Data were analyzed using IPA. Results suggest that identity development is influenced by similar concerns for all adolescents regardless of donor source: body image, social relationships, and anxiety about the future. One aspect that stood out from the discourse of those who received from a parent was feelings of guilt towards the donor when engaging in behaviors that could comprise graft survival, which was a challenge for identity development. Receiving the transplant freed teens from the struggle of just managing their illness and was a catalyst for exploration and engagement, which are crucial for identity development.

A Photo Elicitation Study on Chronically Ill Adolescents' Identity Constructions During Transition

Adolescence is an important phase of life with increasing independence and identity development, and a vulnerable period of life for chronically ill adolescents with a high occurrence of insufficient treatment adherence. We conducted four photo elicitation focus group interviews with 14 adolescents (12-20 years) with juvenile idiopathic arthritis to investigate identity constructions during transition. Using a discourse analysis approach, six identity types were identified distributed on normal and marginal identities, which were lived either at home (home arena) or outside home with peers (out arena). Most participants positioned themselves as normal in the out arena and as ill in the home arena. Few participants positioned themselves as ill in an out arena, and they described how peers perceived this as a marginal and skewed behavior. This study contributes to a better understanding of why it can be extremely difficult to live with a chronic illness during adolescence.

Post-transplant adjustment--the later years

As survival rates for pediatric solid organ transplantation have continued to improve, researchers and healthcare providers have increasingly focused on understanding and enhancing the HRQOL and psychosocial functioning of their patients. This manuscript reviews the psychosocial functioning of pediatric transplant recipients during the "later years," defined as more than three yr post-transplant, and focuses on the day-to-day impact of living with a transplant after the immediate period of adjustment and early years after surgery. Key topics reviewed include HRQOL, cognitive functioning, impact on the family, regimen adherence, and transition of responsibility for self-management tasks. Overall, pediatric transplant recipients evidence impairment in HRQOL, neuropsychological outcomes, and family functioning as compared to non-transplant recipients. However, the degree of impairment is influenced by a variety of factors including, disease severity, age, solid organ type, and study methodologies. Studies are limited by small samples, cross-sectional design, and the lack of universal assessment battery to allow for comparisons across solid organ populations. Areas for future research are discussed.