Adolescent Organ Transplants: A Lifetime Commitment to Medication

Abstract

Purpose: Medication non-adherence is the most prevalent issue within the adolescent population, where often times adolescent patients will face barriers to achieve adherence. This article sought out to present a narrative review of medication adherence barriers identified and reported in adolescent organ transplant patients, whilst providing potential adherence intervention methods. Method: A literature review was conducted using the databases PubMed, MasterFILE Premier*, Elsevier, and Google Scholar. The articles were chosen based on their relativity to the topic of medication adherence barriers and interventions in adolescent organ transplant patients. Also, a total of 11 different medical practitioners were contacted for an interview. Results: Twenty-six studies were chosen to be a part of this review, and based on the content of the studies, five barrier types were developed: “treatment-related barriers”, “psychosocial barriers”, “transition readiness barriers”, and “relationship barriers”.  The literature review also identified various intervention methods for medication adherence in regards to education, behavior, relationships, and mental health interventions. One interview was conducted with a pediatric nephrologist.  Conclusion: Based on these results it is important to acknowledge that there is not one common barrier among every patient, as each patient develops a unique set of barriers. The review recognized the importance of awareness on the vast possibilities of barriers rather than a generalized approach to adherence.