Promoting Medication AdheRence and Self-management among kidney transplant recipients: a randomized controlled trial (the MARS Trial)

Project summary

Adolescents and adults regularly see the various tasks associated with life after a kidney transplant as challenging and emotionally demanding. This is a major problem, because patients who, for example, are unable to take medication on time or follow rules of life (therapy unfaithfulness) have an increased risk of rejecting the kidney. There is therefore a need for effective help for patients to limit the adverse effects of therapy infidelity and to guarantee the quality of life. It is known that a kidney patient is often not alone, but lives together with family and his / her social network. The people from this network want to help the patient, but do not always know how they can best handle this. In this project, a psychologist talks with the patient, the family and the social network to come up with solutions that help a transplant patient to take the medication correctly and follow the rules of life. The approach is unique because it is tailored to the specific situation and needs of the patient, involves the social environment of the patient in the process, and takes place outside the hospital environment. These factors are expected to increase the chance that the solutions will be effective for a longer period of time.

Developing and testing an intervention to promote proper medication intake and self-management in kidney transplant patients by making use of the capabilities and skills of the patient himself and his environment. Ultimately less transplant rejection due to therapy unfaithfulness.