1. Effectiveness of Expressive Writing in Kidney Transplanted Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial Study
- Author
-
Laura Pierro, Giulia Servidei, Renzo Pretagostini, Davide Stabile, Francesco Nudo, Silvia Lai, Paola Aceto, Luca Poli, Erika Fazzari, and Carlo Lai
- Subjects
psychological intervention ,graft rejection ,renal transplantation ,randomized control trial ,health psychology ,Health Information Management ,Leadership and Management ,Health Policy ,Health Informatics - Abstract
The present study aimed to assess the effectiveness of an expressive writing (EW) intervention on psychological and physiological variables after kidney transplant. The final sample of 26 were randomly assigned to an expressive writing group (EWG) and control group (CG). Outcomes were focused on depression, anxiety, alexithymia, empathy, resilience, locus of control, creatinine, CDK-EPI, and azotemia. Depressive symptoms and alexithymia levels decreased in the EWG, with better adherence. Resilience declined over time in both groups. The EWG showed a significantly higher CDK-EPI, indicating better renal functioning. EW seems an effective intervention to improve the psychological health of transplanted patients, with a possible effect on renal functioning. These findings open the possibility of planning brief psychological interventions aimed at processing emotional involvement, in order to increase adherence, the acceptance of the organ, and savings in healthcare costs.
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
- View/download PDF