Employment post-transplant: a biopsychosocial analysis

Employment following renal transplantation has been lower than predicted at the time of the original end-stage renal disease (ESRD) legislation more than 30 years ago. This paper uses the biopsychosocial model to identify predictors of employment for 411 individuals transplanted at a single, large Midwestern academic center. Less than 50% of respondents reported part-time or full-time employment post-transplant. Factors found to predict employment were age at the time of transplant, race, sex, and patient perception of physical functioning. Individuals who were younger when transplanted, Caucasian, and males were more likely to be employed full-time following transplantation as were those who perceived themselves to have a higher level of physical functioning. No biological factors, including serum creatinine, mean arterial pressure (MAP), and diabetic status, were significant predictors of employment. The biopsychosocial model is used to discuss the implications of these findings for post-transplant employment and social work intervention.