Self-Care Guidelines: Finding a Common Ground

Abstract

Pressure to reduce overall transplant costs is one of the factors which has led to earlier hospital discharge and increased patient management challenges in outpatient and home care settings. Earlier discharge often contributes to decreased opportunity to provide and ensure comprehension of critical patient and family education, resulting in challenges for home care clinicians who are committed not only to patient and environmental assessments, but to helping assure patient and family understanding of and compliance with critical posttransplant responsibilities and regimens. This article describes a transplant patient education tool that was developed for use with all types of solid organ transplant recipients discharged from multiple centers yet managed by a single home care organization. The tool provides patient education information that can be realistically reviewed and reinforced during the home visit. The resource focuses on key self-care issues to promote wellness and graft survival and help prevent adverse outcomes.

Comparison of the ICF core set for cardiopulmonary conditions in the acute hospital setting among different types of transplant patients

“…Moreover, the authors of several studies have remarked that rehabilitation should start postoperatively within a few days and that its success or lack thereof can have a marked effect on outcomes (Juskowa et al, 2006;Templin and Janek, 2006;Korabiewska et al, 2007;Sanchez et al, 2007). Randolph and Scholz (1999) also comment that to reduce costs, patients are often discharged so quickly that there is little time for education or institution of self-care or rehabilitation. From our study we identified exercise as a part of the early rehabilitation program and this component is also supported by cardiovascular, biochemical, and muscle strength benefits shown by other studies (Juskowa et al, 2006;Korabiewska et al, 2007).…”

Home Care Management of Intestinal Transplant Recipients

“…19 Parenteral nutrition will be started after transplantation but patients will be gradually weaned from parenteral nutrition with concurrent increases in enteral feedings. 20 Parenteral nutrition may be resumed intermittently during periods of rejection or infection or if enteral feedings are not yet tolerated. Jejunal enteral feedings with a diluted elemental formula are generally initiated at 5 to 10 mL/hr.…”