Psychosocial Support in Liver Transplantation: A Dyadic Study With Patients and Their Family Caregivers

Abstract

Background and aims: Liver transplantation provides an opportunity of survival for patients with liver failure; however, this procedure is known to be psychologically and physically fatiguing for patients and their informal caregivers. The aim of this study was to investigate how perceived social support and the distribution of dependency were associated with the psychological wellbeing of patients waiting for liver transplantation and their caregivers, as a dyad.Methods: The present was a cross-sectional study. Ninety-five participants were recruited at a hospital in Northern Italy, during the psychological evaluation for inclusion in the transplantation list: 51 patients (19 with alcohol-related illness) and 44 family caregivers. Both patients and caregivers filled in a Symptom Checklist and Kelly’s Dependency Grids. Patients also compiled the Medical Outcome Study Social-Support Survey, and caregivers compiled the Family Strain Questionnaire Short-Form.Results: Caregivers reported important levels of strain and strongly related to a worsening of their own and patients’ symptoms. Patients with alcohol-related pathologies had a narrower social network, which corresponded to an increase in family strain. On the sample as a whole, regression analyses showed that perceived social support and dependency measures did not predict patients’ and caregivers’ symptoms. Nevertheless, cluster analysis identified a group of caregivers who distributed their dependency more and experienced lower levels of depression, anxiety, and strain.Conclusions: These results suggest the usefulness of a dyadic approach in the research, prevention, and care of liver diseases. A deeper comprehension of the functioning of dyads will help practitioners in the identification of situations at risk.

Perceived Social Support and Well-Being of International Students at an Italian University

“…Specifically, greater well-being and lower distress were associated with higher perceived social support (mostly globally and from the family) and higher dispersion of dependency. In line with previous literature (Cipolletta et al, 2019a;Laso Ortiz et al 2015;Powell, 2013;Talbot et al 1991), DG measures confirmed their relationship with social support and distress measures and suggested that when someone has a higher number of resources and a higher dispersion of dependency, they perceive greater social support and less distress. Results also confirmed the association between social support and well-being pointed out by previous studies (Atri et al, 2007;Nahidi et al, 2018;Sümer et al, 2008).…”

“…In this context, a small number of resources and an undispersed dependency suggest a poor social network and social support: If a person relies on a few resources and these resources are not available when he or she needs help, then the person will not be able to receive any support (Walker, 1997(Walker, , 2005. Previous studies have investigated the dispersion of dependency in several domains (Cipolletta et al, 2012(Cipolletta et al, , 2013(Cipolletta et al, , 2019a(Cipolletta et al, , 2019bCipolletta & Amicucci, 2017;Laso Ortiz et al, 2015;Powell, 2013;Smith et al, 1991;Talbot et al, 1991) and in relation to social network (Mitchell & Latchford, 2010;Stevens & Walker, 1996) and social support (Cipolletta et al, 2019a). However, so far, no study has investigated dependency in the international students and its relationship with social support and well-being.…”

The relationship between the care burden and burnout levels of primary caregivers of patients undergoing liver transplantation

“…Cipolletta et al 16 found that patients awaiting liver transplantation had higher depression levels. Among the common symptoms of burnout are severe psychological distress, depression, interpersonal conflicts, and somatic symptoms.…”

“…The Turkish validity and reliability study of the scale was conducted by Çapri 9 and it is a 5-point Likert scale comprising 22 questions. The scale has three subscales as "Emotional Burnout" (EB) including nine items (1,2,3,6,8,13,14,16,20), "Depersonalization" (DPS) including five items (5,10,11,15,22), and "Reduced Personal Accomplishment (RPA) including eight items (4,7,9,12,17,18,19,21).…”

Informal Caregivers’ Well-Being at the Transition to Caregiving

“…Together, these data highlight the need to provide health promotion interventions for informal caregivers to help them adopt healthy lifestyle habits at the time the caregiving role is assumed. Emerging research using dyadic approaches suggests that such interventions would not only confer benefits for caregivers’ own health and well-being but could also lead to improved outcomes for the care recipient (Bidwell et al, 2017; Cipolletta et al, 2019; Meyers et al, 2020; Thomson et al, 2020).…”