The meaning of life in organ transplant recipients

Abstract

The purpose·· of this study was to explicate the meaning of life as experienced in a population of renal, cardiac, and liver transplant recipients. The method used was·two-fold: A phenomenological design to explore qualities of the lived experience in subjective terms. A questionnaire provid~d measurable information for corroboration and validation. The theoretical perspective of will to meaning (Frankl, 1969) served as a basis for the study. This view suggests that the search for personal meaning is a primary motivating force for continued survival in human beings. A convenience sample of eleven vital organ transplant recipients participated in the study. Initially, the Life Attitude Profile-Revised (LAP-R) (Reker, 1992) was completed by each participant. This is a multidimensional, Likert-type instrument measuring attitudes toward life. Questionnaire completion was followed by semi~structured interviews. The two sets of data were examined separately. Interviews were analyzed according to phenomenological guidelines set forth by van Kaam (1966), leading to structural definition· of the meaning of life for organ transplant recipients. LAP-R data were then analyzed. Analysis culminated in a· syncretic integration of findings from both data sources. This provided a rich, contextual description of the indomitability of the human spirit. The purpose·· of this study was to explicate the meaning of life as experienced in a population of renal, cardiac, and liver transplant recipients. The method used was·two-fold: A phenomenological design to explore qualities of the lived experience in subjective terms. A questionnaire provid~d measurable information for corroboration and validation. The theoretical perspective of will to meaning (Frankl, 1969) served as a basis for the study. This view suggests that the search for personal meaning is a primary motivating force for continued survival in human beings. A convenience sample of eleven vital organ transplant recipients participated in the study. Initially, the Life Attitude Profile-Revised (LAP-R) (Reker, 1992) was completed by each participant. This is a multidimensional, Likert-type instrument measuring attitudes toward life. Questionnaire completion was followed by semi~structured interviews. The two sets of data were examined separately. Interviews were analyzed according to phenomenological guidelines set forth by van Kaam (1966), leading to structural definition· of the meaning of life for organ transplant recipients. LAP-R data were then analyzed. Analysis culminated in a· syncretic integration of findings from both data sources. This provided a rich, contextual description of the indomitability of the human spirit.