The "Stanford Integrated Psychosocial Assessment for Transplant" (SIPAT)

Given the extremely limited availability of donated organs, transplant candidates must be carefully evaluated and selected to ensure the success of the transplant and value of the organ to the recipient. Medical criteria for pre-transplant evaluation of patients is well established, however, listing criteria for psychosocial risk factors (e.g., understanding of illness and transplant process, psychiatric history, support system, compliance, etc) is less standardized. The purpose of this research is to study the psychometric properties (e.g., predictive validity) of the new pre-transplant "Stanford Integrated Psychosocial Assessment for Transplant" (SIPAT) examination in patients who received heart, kidney, liver, or lung transplant and underwent the SIPAT evaluation before treatment. This new screening tool was designed to standardize the evaluation process of psychosocial risk factors and their severity, in order to enhance predictions of medical and psychosocial outcomes of patients post-transplant.

If the SIPAT is used for standard, pre-transplant assessment, risk factors that may be amenable to clinical intervention could be identified. In turn, this may assist in developing a comprehensive psychosocial treatment plan for each individual, with the ultimate goal of minimizing preventable problems, mitigating risk, and optimizing graft survival, patient function, and quality of life.