Relationship between Readiness for Hospital Discharge and Self-care of Liver Transplant Recipients: A Single-center Prospective Study

Purpose: The purpose of this longitudinal study was to identify the relationship between the readiness for hospital discharge and self-care changes in an early stage of liver transplantation after discharge. Methods: Data of 75 liver transplant recipients within one year of surgery from a transplantation center from May 2019 to May 2020 were collected for this study. Their readiness for discharge was measured before discharge. Self-care after liver transplantation was evaluated at one week, one month, and three months of discharge at outpatient visits. Linear mixed model was used to evaluate the statistical relationship. Results: The readiness for hospital discharge was significantly higher when the caregiver was a spouse (p = .027), with fewer post-transplantation days (p = .027), absence of acute rejection (p = .004), or high self-efficacy (p < .001). As a result of the linear mixed model analysis, the higher the discharge readiness score, the higher the self-care score (β = 0.29, p < .001). However, after three months, their self-care had decreased regardless of their level of readiness for hospital discharge compared to one week after discharge. Conclusion: Improving the readiness before discharge is essential to enhance self-care. Also, active intervention at 3 months of discharge should be performed to check and promote their long-term self-care.