Abstract.
Reported frequencies of non-compliance in children with end-stage renal disease range from 8% to 70% with a mean around 40%. Sequelae amount to momentous emotional and financial burdens, including the loss of 7% of transplanted organs. Reasons for non-compliance have too often been attributed selectively to the patients (e.g., emotional, mental, social, or communication problems). Compared with general compliance research, this selective attribution appears to be too simplistic. Selective attribution neglects the patients’ experiences within the context of disease and treatment and prevents open communication about non-compliance. Research on personal reasons for non-compliance is scarce. In psychological interviews, a third of our 85 patients with end-stage renal disease (34 boys, 51 girls, mean age 12.7 years, range 7.4–19.3 years) communicated psychologically meaningful reasons for non-compliance, frequently related to interrelational and systemic treatment conditions. Patients indirectly asked for more communication about their subjective reasons for non-compliance.
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Received July 10, 1997; received in revised form and accepted April 30, 1998
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wolff, G., Strecker, K., Vester, U. et al. Non-compliance following renal transplantation in children and adolescents. Pediatr Nephrol 12, 703–708 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1007/s004670050531
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s004670050531