Adult Survivors of Childhood Liver Transplant
Posted on 11/11/2011
Dr Karen Lowton, Institute of Gerontology, has been awarded over £160,000 to conduct research into the lives of adult survivors of childhood liver transplant.
The study will build on the ESRC seminar series New Ageing Populations: Mapping identities, health, needs and responses across the lifecourse to improve understanding of the relationship between novel medical intervention and the day-to-day lives of liver transplant patients.
People with complex diseases and disabilities are increasingly living longer than would have been possible in the past. While there has been substantial research into ‘new aging populations’ from a clinical perspective, ontological and existential issues for those living with or beyond the expectations of a condition have not been studied extensively.
The King’s study will investigate the unique pressures faced by the first cohort of childhood liver transplant survivors in the UK as they negotiate adulthood in tandem with rapidly changing clinical and social contexts.
Karen says: This research will enable us to understand how this pioneering cohort live their adult lives in the context of innovative childhood surgery. Additionally, the study will add to our knowledge of how the clinicians who continue to care for this cohort practice health care in the context of a thin evidence base for long-term outcomes.
Research findings will be disseminated through a seminar at King’s as well as through national and international conferences and publications.
Dr Karen Lowton is a medical sociologist with expertise in ageing and health based at the Institute of Gerontology, School of Social Science & Public Policy, King’s College London.