Acceptance of Illness Among Patients Pursuing Transplantation or Left Ventricular Assist Device
Recommended Citation
Miller-Matero LR, Hecht LM, Elsiss F, Miller MK, Son J, Ling S, Segal A, and Bryce K. Acceptance of Illness Among Patients Pursuing Transplantation or Left Ventricular Assist Device. J Clin Psychol Med Settings 2021.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-2-2021
Publication Title
Journal of clinical psychology in medical settings
Abstract
Acceptance of illness is related to better mental health among patients with chronic illness; however, this construct has not been evaluated as part of routine transplantation evaluations. The purpose of this study was to create a brief measure of acceptance of illness for patients pursuing organ transplantation and examine how acceptance is related to distress. Retrospective medical record reviews were conducted for 290 patients who completed a routine psychosocial evaluation prior to transplant listing which included the Illness Acceptance Scale (IAS). Internal consistency for the IAS was excellent (Cronbach's alpha = .92). Illness acceptance was negatively correlated with depression, anxiety, and catastrophizing and was not related to health literacy or health numeracy. The IAS is a reliable and valid measure for patients who are pursuing thoracic transplant or left ventricular assist device. Clinicians may want to screen transplant candidates for illness acceptance and refer those with lower levels to psychological interventions.
PubMed ID
34076825
ePublication
ePub ahead of print
