Description of a Psychosocial Assessment Instrument and Risk Criteria to Support Social Work Recommendations for Kidney Transplant Candidates

Abstract

Developing uniform criteria and a risk assessment clinical intervention plan to identify, assess, and assign psychosocial risk levels may help guide transplant social workers' interventions and justify their listing recommendation. This article describes a kidney pre-transplant psychosocial assessment instrument that is supported by psychosocial risk criteria and a risk assessment clinical intervention plan.

Keywords:

• kidney transplant
• psychosocial risk levels
• listing recommendations
• psychosocial intervention
• hospital social work
• chronic illness

Acknowledgments

I thank Leah Luby, LGSW, Chelsea Quinn, LCSW-C, CCTSW, Zendy Williams, LCSW-C, and Shelley Cheatham, LGSW for their dedication and hard work to help develop and implement this assessment. Benjamin Philosophe, MD, for his support in social work standardizing their assessment and insight provided as an ad hoc team member. Sue Ostovitz, MBA, RN, BSN, for participation as an ad hoc team member and support for the initiative. Appreciation is expressed to Rhagava Munivenkatappa and TeleResults for making needed changes to allow export of the psychosocial data for future research.

Notes