Date of Award

2020

Document Type

Master Thesis

Degree Name

Masters of Science (Research)

Department

Health & Leisure Studies

First Advisor

Dr. Karen Weekes

Second Advisor

Dr. Michael Hall

Abstract

Organ failure is a life-threatening condition (Daugirdas et al, 2014). Non-adherence to medication is one of the main causes of the failure of a transplanted organ (Oberlin et al, 2016). In an effort to combat non-adherence to medication, research had employed intervention studies to tackle the main cause of non-adherence (Chisholm-Burns, 2013). The aims of this project are three fold. Firstly it aims to find if complications associated with organ transplant affect the individual’s medication adherence. Secondly, it explores the connections between exercise and medication adherence. Thirdly the research explores if exercise assists with possible complications associated with an organ transplant. The methodology adopts a mixed methods approach, incorporating qualitative and quantitative methods using interviews and a survey respectively. The pilot study took place at a Kidney Transplant Wellness seminar in Dublin, which sparked changes to be made in the survey and interview questions. The primary data collection took place in Italy at the 2018 European Transplant and Dialysis Games, thereby ensuring ecological validity. Forty four participants (N=44) completed the survey questions and fifteen participants (N=15) took part in the interviews. The results suggest that non-adherence may be as simple as being forgetful, however results also indicate that factors such as side effects from medication may also affect adherence. Furthermore, results suggest that exercise does not directly affect medication adherence, rather it helps with some factors that may affect adherence to medication. This research suggests that organ transplant recipients should be encouraged to start light exercises within a month following a transplant to increase their chances of being 100 percent adherent to their mediation regime. In addition, findings from this research suggest that exercise participation should reduce the risk of possible side effects from the medication and complications associated with organ transplant.

Access Level

info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

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