The care experience for people undergoing a liver transplantation. Descriptive phenomenological investigation in a Belgian academic hospital

Abstract

This study aims to describe and understand the care experience for people having undergone a liver transplantation in a Belgian academic hospital and the elements of an ideal care experience for them. The descriptive phenomenological method of the « Relational Caring Inquiry » was used with twelve participants whose stories were collected through three semi-structured individual interviews. These interviews gave an overall picture of their care experience, summarized as « the feeling of having benefited from the support of both the body and mind in a Humanist-Caring dynamic, but with difficulties linked to organizational and environmental factors in finding a new balance. » The essence of their ideal care experience consists of « benefiting from the support of both the body and mind by competent professionals, in a Humanist-Caring climate and a dynamic of partnership with the patient, in an institution that is welcoming in terms of its organization and environment. » Based on these results, it seems essential to limit organizational constraints to consolidate the Humanist-Caring dynamic, to develop the patient partnership, and to pay special attention to the patient’s relatives, resulting in structured support.