PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to discover kidney transplant and hemodialysis patients' quality of life(QOL) and provide basic data to improve their QOL. METHOD: One hundred two hemodialysis patients and 106 kidney transplant patients were given a self-administered questionnaire from Mar. 6 to Mar. 31, 2006. The instrument consisted of demographic variables, therapeutic-related characteristics and QOL. Collected data was processed using the SPSS 12.0 statistical program for real numbers, percentages, ANCOVA, t-test, ANOVA, Stepwise multiple regression and the Scheffe test. RESULTS: Kidney transplantpatients' QOL was higher than hemodialysis patients. The demographic variables which showed a significant difference in overall QOL were religion, children and monthly income for kidney transplantpatients and educational background for hemodialysis patients. The therapeutic-related variable which showed a significant difference in overall QOL was the patients' perceived health condition for both groups. The influencing factor on overall QOL for both groups was the health condition perceived by themselves. The total variance of the variable for QOL was 42% for kidney transplant patients and 19% for hemodialysis patients. CONCLUSION: This study revealed that kidney transplant patients have a higher QOL and how patients perceive their health is the strongest influencing factor for QOL. However, there is a large difference between the demand and supply of kidney donors. To solve this problem the standards for donation should be reviewed and revised.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Demography ; Female ; Health Status ; Humans ; Kidney Transplantation/nursing/*psychology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; *Quality of Life ; Questionnaires ; Renal Dialysis/nursing/*psychology ; Tissue Donors

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess the psychosocial status of candidates for deceased donor kidney transplantation (DDKT) in South Korea and identify factors associated with high-risk psychosocial status.METHODS: The descriptive cross-sectional design included application of a standardized transplantation-specific assessment tool, the Psychosocial Assessment Candidacy Transplantation (PACT) instrument, and review of candidates' medical records. A total of 157 patients awaiting DDKT were recruited from a Korean organ transplantation center. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression. Candidates were divided into high- and low-psychosocial risk groups using 3 as the cutoff point of PACT.RESULTS: The mean score for the PACT final rating was 2.10, and the lowest average subscale score was 2.30 for understanding the processes of transplantation and follow up. Poor physical candidacy, especially due to comorbidities, and older age were associated with high psychosocial risk.CONCLUSION: The results of this study showed that the psychosocial status of Korean DDKT candidates was problematic. Development of systematic management programs for effective clinical strategies in the care of candidates is crucial to maintain their desirable psychosocial status in case of an emergency DDKT operation and improve post-transplantation outcomes. Continuous education is absolutely necessary to enhance understanding of the transplantation process for high-risk psychosocial candidates. Additionally, nurses and transplantation professionals should screen candidates with high-risk psychosocial status early in the process using transplantation-specific assessment tools and provide intensive interventions, particularly for poor physical candidacy patients and older candidates.
Comorbidity ; Education ; Emergencies ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Kidney Transplantation ; Kidney ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Medical Records ; Nursing Assessment ; Organ Transplantation ; Psychology ; Tissue Donors ; Transplants ; Waiting Lists