Quality of Life After Kidney Transplantation

This literature review summarizes the research on quality of life (QoL) in kidney transplant recipients. After clarification and discussion of conceptual issues in view of QoL, the following topics are reviewed: comparisons of QoL pre- to post-transplant, post-transplant QoL of kidney transplant recipients to that of other chronically ill patients and of healthy subjects, correlates of QoL, and interventions designed to enhance QoL in kidney transplantation. Gaps in the state-of-the-art evidence, from conceptual, content, and methodological perspectives, are highlighted, and directions for future research are discussed.

Keywords: Quality of Life, Kidney Failure, Chronic/Psychology/Surgery, Kidney Transplantation, Marginal Donor, SF-36, Adherence to Therapy.