Abstract:
Background: The aim of this study was to describe parental psychosocial outcomes following paediatric liver transplantation and the relationship between parental psychosocial outcomes and social support. Method: This is a correlational, descriptive study conducted between April 2021 and October 2021 in the paediatric hepatology polyclinics of the liver transplantation institute of a university hospital. The SPSS 25 and AMOS 23 package programmes were used to perform data analyses. Results: Data analysis revealed that the parents' social support level was low (44.6 ± 14.8), while their levels of trait anxiety (51.5 ± 4.8) and loneliness (48.5 ± 5.4) were high, and their depression level was moderate (26.4 ± 5.8). Established structural equation modelling demonstrated that the social support parents received had a significant effect on their levels of loneliness (β = −0.88; p < 0.001), trait anxiety (β = −0.37; p < 0.001), and depression (β = −0.44; p < 0.001). Conclusion: The authors conclude that in parents of children who have had a liver transplant, increased levels of perceived social support result in decreased levels of anxiety, loneliness, and depression. Practice implications: The authors recommend that healthcare professionals can contribute to reducing the anxiety, loneliness and depression in parents of paediatric liver transplant recipients by strengthening their social support systems. © 2022 Elsevier Inc.