Evaluation of efficacy in a liver pretransplantation orientation group

The medical context recognizes the efficiency of working with groups of patients. Group interventions can intensify the understanding, ability, and notion of recognizing the patient's own condition, increasing the responsibility for him- or herself. This survey sought to evaluate the efficacy of an interdisciplinary orientation group for hepatic transplantation preoperatively.

The opinions of all patients on a waiting list for liver transplantation and their accompanying persons were evaluated from August to December 2005 through a questionnaire with 17 relevant items concerning the transplantation process. The group efficacy was evaluated according to the percentage of correct answers from the subjects before and after attending the group.

The results showed a 59% increase in correct answers for the evaluated items after group attendance. The items which showed significant improvement were: what should I do after being called for transplantation; average time of admission to hospital and ICU; use of immunosuppressive drugs; clinical conditions for transplantation; frequency of appointments with the surgeon within the first month; physical activities; diet; blood transfusion; and forgetting medication. A ceiling effect was observed upon reevaluation of the previous conditions for transplantation item.

The percentage of health improvement after attending the group demonstrated an impact of the interdisciplinary orientation intervention on the instruction of patients and their accompanying persons, thus representing an important step in their training process.