Health-related quality of life of living liver donors 1 year after donation

[[abstract]]Background: Improving the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of living liver donors post-donation is an important aspect of care quality. Analyzing the HRQOL of living liver donors prospectively could help improve our understanding of the recovery of HRQOL and help improve the quality of donor care. In this study, we examined the HRQOL of living liver donors at pre-donation and at 1-year post-donation and analyzed the effect of pre- and post-donation factors on the donors’ physical and mental HRQOL. Methods: This was a prospective study. During the enrollment period (August 2013 to December 2015), 68 living liver donors completed the study questionnaires 5 times: at pre-donation and at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months post-donation. The Medical Outcomes Study Questionnaire Short Form-36, which yields both physical (PCS) and mental (MCS) component summary scores, was used to measure the HRQOL. The pre- and post-donation factors included donation ambivalence, recipients’ physical condition, post-donation complications, and recipients’ survival status. Results: Participants’ mean PCS scores were 43.59 and 56.50 at 1 and 12 months after donation, respectively, whereas their mean MCS scores were 46.89 and 46.28, respectively. The mean PCS score was worse at 1 month after donation but improved significantly over time (P0.05). A good PCS score was associated with no surgical complications of donation (coefficient =2.87, P=0.02), whereas a poor MCS score was associated with an education of less than a bachelor’s degree (coefficient =−3.60, P=0.004), a higher Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score in the recipient (coefficient =−0.13, P=0.03), and recipient death (coefficient =−3.48, P=0.03). Pre-donation ambivalence and sense of coherence were not significant predictors of the PCS or MCS scores. Conclusions: The impact of living liver donation on HRQOL was strongest in the early stages of the post-surgery period for the physical domain. Health-care professionals should carefully manage and monitor the progress of surgical outcomes, particularly in high-risk groups such as donors with a low education level or donors whose recipients have severe illness or end up dying after the surgery. Doing so may allow for suitable intervention opportunities to improve the HRQOL of living liver donors

Factors associated with registration for organ donation among clinical nurses

[[abstract]]Purpose Healthcare professionals play an important role in the organ donation process. The aim of this study was to examine the organ donation registration rate and related factors among clinical nurses. Material and methods In this cross-sectional, correlational study, we used mailed questionnaires to collect data from four geographical areas and three hospital levels in Taiwan from June 6 to August 31, 2018. Two thousand and thirty-three clinical nurses participated in this study. Results Participants’ mean age was 34.47 years, and 95.7% were women. Of them, 78.3% were willing to donate their organs and 20.6% had registered for organ donation after death. The results of logistic regression showed that in the personal domain, higher age (odds ratio (OR) = 1.03, p < 0.001), better knowledge of organ donation (OR = 1.09, p < 0.001), and a positive attitude toward organ donation (OR = 2.91, p < 0.001) were positively associated with organ donation registration, while cultural myths (OR = 0.69, p < 0.001) were negatively correlated. In the policy domain, the convenience of the registration procedure (OR = 1.45, p < 0.001) was positively associated with registration. A gap between willingness to donate and actual registration was observed. Conclusions Personal factors played an important role in organ donation registration. Therefore, efforts to improve knowledge and inculcate positive cultural beliefs about organ donation among clinical nurses are recommended. There is also a need to cooperate with government policies to provide appropriate in-service training and policy incentives and establish an efficient registration process

Psychological profiles of excluded living liver donor candidates :An observational study

[[abstract]]Living donor liver transplantation has advantages over deceased organ liver transplantation. However, the living liver donor candidates must be carefully assessed before surgery. Candidates may be excluded for various reasons. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychological profiles of excluded living liver donor candidates according to the reason for exclusion. A descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted. Donor candidates were invited to participate if they were at least 20 years of age, related biologically or by marriage to the recipient (within 5 degrees), and had undergone living donor evaluation. Among the 338 participants recruited from August 2013 to December 2015, 116 were excluded for the following reasons: a medical condition (n = 35), failure to be chosen (n = 63), or withdrawal from the selection process (n = 18). The psychological profiles of these 3 exclusion groups were evaluated. There were no significant group differences in age, sex, education level, religion, marital status, and consanguinity (P > .05). The withdrawal group had fewer recipients with an hepatitis B virus infection than did the other groups (χ2 = 9.28, P = .01). Additionally, compared with the unchosen group, the withdrawal group had lower intimacy with the recipient (F = 5.32, P = .006) and higher ambivalence (F = 5.53, P = .005). In terms of family relationship parameters, the withdrawal group had lower family cohesion than the medical condition and unchosen groups (F = 4.44, P = .01), lower family expressiveness than the medical condition group (F = 3.76, P = .03), and higher family conflict than the medical condition and unchosen groups (F = 7.05, P = .001). The withdrawal group also had lower emotional social support than the medical condition group (F = 3.55, P = .03). There were no significant group difference in motivation, expectations, donation-related concerns, informational social support, value social support, instrumental social support, and health-related quality of life. The living donor candidates who withdrew from the selection process had obvious ambivalence, poorer family relationships, and insufficient emotional social support. The transplantation team should respect the autonomy of the candidate's decision and mitigate the impact of the donation decision on living liver donor candidates

Experiences of Living in the Community for Older Aboriginal Persons With Dementia Symptoms in Taiwan

[[abstract]]Background and Objectives Improving quality of life for community-dwelling older persons with dementia symptoms (PWDS) and family caregivers requires promoting dementia-friendly communities (DFC). However, little is known regarding older Taiwanese Aboriginal PWDS’ experiences of living in the community. We explored these experiences for older Atayal PWDS and their families in Taiwan. Research Design and Methods This grounded theory research used in-depth interviews to explore the perspectives of older PWDS (n = 4), their family members (n = 3), and key persons (n = 10) in an Atayal community in northern Taiwan. Data were analyzed using constant comparative analysis. Participants were interviewed between January and May 2015. Results Participants’ experiences were captured by the overarching concept of “low dementia awareness, high family-like ambience in the community.” Despite the low/absent community awareness of dementia, older Atayal PWDS functioned as freely in the community as at home due to a family-like supportive environment. Aboriginal PWDS and their families also faced environmental challenges, e.g., environmental constraints and barriers to transportation access. Discussion and Implications Our results suggest that this Aboriginal community and culture offer important DFC components, and these strengths could be further studied to enhance DFC models elsewhere. Despite these strengths in supporting PWDS, environmental challenges to transportation access still cause difficulties for PWDS and their families and need improvement. The Atayal community’s low dementia awareness suggests that services introduced must be culturally appropriate and nondisruptive to existing supportive helping systems. Our study can be a model for future studies to understand and identify PWDS’ needs in Indigenous communities