Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-fbnjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T04:53:50.525Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Psychological benefits for children and adolescents who have undergone transplantation of the heart from participation in the British Transplant Games

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 February 2008

Jo Wray*
Affiliation:
Children’s Outpatient Department, Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust, Harefield Hospital, Harefield, Middlesex Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust, London, United Kingdom
Tracy Lunnon-Wood
Affiliation:
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust, London, United Kingdom
*
Correspondence to: Dr Jo Wray, Children’s Outpatient Department, Harefield Hospital, Harefield, Middlesex UB9 6JH, United Kingdom. Tel: +1895 828 761; Fax: +1895 828 554; E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

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.

Type
Original Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. Wray, J, Radley-Smith, R. Longitudinal assessment of psychological functioning in children after heart or heart-lung transplantation. J Heart Lung Transplant 2006; 25: 345352.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
2. Wray, J, Radley-Smith, R. Depression in paediatric patients before and one year after heart or heart-lung transplantation. J Heart Lung Transplant 2004; 23: 11031110.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
3. Mintzer, LL, Stuber, ML, Seacord, D, Castaneda, M, Mesrkhani, V, Glover, D. Traumatic stress symptoms in adolescent organ transplant recipients. Pediatrics 2005; 115: 16401644.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
4. Wray, J, Radley-Smith, R. Ratings of children’s self perception before and one year after transplantation: do children and their parents agree? J Heart Lung Transplant 2001; 20: 243.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5. DeMaso, DR, Kelley, SD, Bastardi, H, O’Brien, P, Blume, ED. The longitudinal impact of psychological functioning, medical severity and family functioning in pediatric heart transplantation. J Heart Lung Transplant 2004; 23: 473480.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6. McGee, HM, Horgan, JH. Participation in the Cardiac Transplant Games: impact on health-related quality of life. Br J Health Psychol 1996; 1: 245252.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7. Pastore, E, Turchetta, A, Attias, L, et al. Cardiorespiratory functional assessment after pediatric heart transplantation. Pediatr Transplant 2001; 5: 425429.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8. Penkower, L, Dew, MA, Ellis, D, Sereika, SM, Kitutu, JMM, Shapiro, R. Psychological distress and adherence to the medical regimen among adolescent renal transplant recipients. Am J Transplant 2003; 3: 14181425.CrossRefGoogle Scholar