Mapping a way to medication adherence

Eighteen-year-old Maggie Mansfield, a communications major at Boston College, is a two-time double-lung transplant recipient — once, at age 4, due to a condition called pulmonary hypertension in which blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs is abnormally high, and again at age 7, when her body rejected the first transplant. Since then, Maggie has remained relatively healthy due in part to her strict medication regimen. Maggie Mansfield “Timing is the most challenging part of taking my medications,” Maggie says. “As I get older, I get busier. It’s not always easy to stop what I am doing and take my pills, but I try to keep my timing the same so I don’t throw off my labs.” Medication adherence is critical to the long-term health of an organ recipient. But taking upwards of 20 medications per day is often overwhelming, particularly for adolescents and young adults as they become more independent. “I equate it to learning how to drive a car,” says Kristine McKenna, PhD, a psychologist in the Boston Children’s Hospital Pediatric Transplant Center. “We don’t just toss over the keys. There are a lot of steps to learning — getting a learner’s permit, practicing driving with a parent. And, again, we don’t just send them out to drive across the country when they get their license.” Drivers Ed: Learning the basics Maggie began taking responsibility for her medications when she was 12. “I was young enough that my parents would still remind m...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: Health & Wellness Our Patients’ Stories Teen Health double lung transplant Liver transplant Pediatric Transplant Center (PTC) prescription medication pulmonary hypertension Source Type: news