Development of a Psychosocial Assessment Database for Reconstructive Hand Transplantation

The semi-structured psychological interview describes the assessment of significant psychosocial characteristics and it is based on the psychosocial domains of the "Transplant Evaluation Rating Scale (TERS)" by Twillman and colleagues for evaluating organ transplant candidates. The interview guide was developed as a tool to guide clinicians through the interview process for hand transplant candidates. The protocol highlights issues that are specific for reconstructive hand transplantation and give clinicians an immediate understanding of what type of information is necessary to conduct a comprehensive psychosocial assessment.

Additionally, the psychological assessment provides standardized psychological screening procedures and continuous follow-up ratings by psychometrical testing. The test battery will be performed at the time of initial psychosocial assessment, immediately after transplant, at six and twelve months for the transplant candidates and at initial evaluation, six and twelve months for candidates excluded for transplant.