Objectives: Transplant patients are exposed to many different types of mental and social stress. The study investigates these patients' need for psychosocial counselling.
Methods: At 6 months and again at 12 months following either a lung, liver or bone-marrow transplantation, 76 patients were questioned about their need for psychosocial counselling. The measuring instruments employed were: SF-36 (quality of life), FLZ (life satisfaction), HADS-D (anxiety/depression), and F-SoZu K-14 (social support).
Results: The need for psychosocial counselling in all three patient groups was at its greatest before transplantation. It amounted to 42.9 % (lung transplantation patients), 50.0 % (liver transplantation patients) and 26.7 % (bone marrow transplantation patients). Six months after transplantation, the need for counselling in all patient groups had quite clearly decreased. Among liver transplant patients, however, it increased again between the sixth and twelfth months. The need for counselling in all patient groups correlated significantly with anxiety. Moreover, at one-year follow-up, significantly negative correlations with mental health, life satisfaction and social support were observed.
Discussion: Especially during the evaluation phase prior to organ transplantation, transplantation patients demonstrate a considerable need for counselling. Psychosocial counselling should be an obligatory part of therapy before and after organ transplantation.