A/Prof. Kelly Lambert1, Ms Eden Rothnie White1
1University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia
Biography:
Kelly Lambert is an Associate Professor at the University of Wollongong and Fellow of Dietitians Australia. She is also Deputy Director of Consumer Engagement with the Health Innovations Research Centre and Director of the Kidney Lifestyle Research Group. Her research interests and values are supporting people with kidney disease to live better lives, improving patient education by health professionals and educating future dietitians
Aim:
To explore the experiences and perspectives of highly active solid organ transplant recipients (SOTRs) regarding exercise post-transplantation.
Background: It is recommended that SOTRs engage in moderate to vigorous-intensity exercise to address the cardiovascular, metabolic, muscular, and psychological comorbidities post-transplant. Few studies have explored the exercise habits of highly active SOTRs. This knowledge could be used to inform and motivate other SOTRs to engage in exercise.
Methods:
Eligible participants were SOTRs who had competed in / were training for elite competitions such as Transplant Games. Individual semi structured interviews occurred with SOTRs recruited via professional networks, social media and snowball sampling. Inductive thematic analysis was used to derive key themes in this preliminary analysis.
Results:
Nine Australian SOTRs (n=3 kidney; 33% female, 56% aged 51 or older) have been recruited to date. Two thirds have competed in multiple sports at events such as the Transplant Games.
Four key themes were apparent. Most individuals expressed a motivation to exercise that was internally driven – either to achieve a personal goal or to maintain overall well being and longevity of the graft. Support systems were crucial for motivating and sustaining people to be active. These support systems included family, community and SOTR peers. Peer support provided a unique sense of belonging and motivation not replicated by other supports. Barriers to exercise post-transplant were identified: finances, physical challenges, lack of health professional encouragement and expertise; lack of access to appropriate exercise programs and invisible role models.
Conclusions:
There are multiple barriers to exercise that interact in an additive manner to delay commencement and prevent sustained involvement in exercise. Health professionals can utilise these insights to improve health outcomes.
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