ASSESSMENT OF KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE OF PATIENT UNDERGOING LIVER TRANSPLANTATION SURGERY

Background: Liver transplantation is now considered as the gold standard for treatment of patients with end-stage liver diseases and early liver tumors in cirrhotic livers. The recognition and prevention of medical as well as surgical complications after liver transplant is the key to improve long term outcomes. The patient awareness about preparation to liver transplantation and their healthy practices is very low. It is important for patients to understand the basic process involved with liver transplants. Aim: recommended health education booklet for patient undergoing liver transplantation surgery. Method: Research design: descriptive study, subject: on (105) patients undergoing liver transplantation, setting :at patients home through home visits. Tools: Elgilani socioeconomic scale, health profile sheet, patients knowledge structured interview questionnaire and evaluation questionnaire of the health education booklet. Results: (31.4%) of hepatic patients were illiterate, (60%) of them belonged to the middle socio economic level, (80%) to (100%) of patients showed poor score level of knowledge in relation feature and function of the liver, as well as definition, causes and indication of liver transplantation, signs of complication, number of meals that patient should had after disease and types of food that improve patient appetite, immunity and that replacement liver cells as well as physical activities and skin hygiene, criteria of the recipient and donor as well as preparation steps for transplantation, examination before operation, steps of admission process and preoperative medication. Also patients had poor coping with disease appear in didn’t follow dietary style and (50.5%) of them stopped medications when felt better. Conclusion: The main conclusion drawn from the current study is that the majority of hepatic patients had poor score level of knowledge regarding liver transplantation and, poor coping with disease. Recommendation: application of health education booklet for patients undergoing liver transplantation surgery