Health Vulnerability and Lifestyle Change for Post Heart/Lung Transplant Patients
Post heart/lung transplant patients are subject to a number of serious health vulnerabilities, generally requiring lifestyle changes. De Geest et al. (2005) identify five lifelong lifestyle changes that apply to this category of patients-a medication regimen involving immunosuppressive drugs, monitoring for symptoms of complication, avoidance of cardiovascular and cancer risk factors such as smoking, avoidance of alcohol and illegal drugs, and regular medical checkups (p. S88). As might be suspected, one of the most common barriers to decreasing a health disparity in this vulnerable population is a lack of patient compliance with this demanding regimen. Grady et al. (2000) report that when a patient fails to achieve stability due to noncompliance, it may be appropriate to enlist further help in the form of extra social support, both within and outside the patient's family (p. 2446). The risks of noncompliance can be great, with "significant stenosis" being one of its moderate consequences and "rejection reaction" being one of the more severe ones (von Ziegler et al., 2009, p. 91, and Goetzmann et al., 2008, p. 664).
The problem of noncompliance in post heart/lung transplant patients resulted in a series of health setbacks in this population at my workplace. Several rejection reactions occurred, and there were also some cases of stenosis that resulted in further heart problems. The hospital had been providing both pre- and post-transplant health education for this population of patients, yet noncompliance persisted, so hospital administrators determined that a different approach needed to be taken. Using research, they found that kidney transplant patients achieved compliance with a complex of approaches that included reminders, obtaining their medications, keeping to a routine, and using problem-solving strategies, and they fo...