Ruth Cooper – författare

Transplantation of a solid organ, such as a kidney, heart, or liver, is a lifesaving procedure and is sometimes the only viable treatment for patients experiencing end-stage organ failure as a result of illness or injury. A growing prevalence of solid organ diseases in the United States is contributing to more people needing a transplant and longer wait times on the national transplant waiting list. While transplantation can lengthen a person''s life, the road to recovery is difficult and complex. Transplant recipients commonly experience considerable impairments related to health factors, medication side effects, organ rejection, or other setbacks that can cause functional limitations. A spectrum of services and supports can be beneficial to patient functioning and quality of life, but patient access is variable due to individual, system, and social factors.

To gain an understanding of current scientific findings in the field of solid organ transplantation, the U.S. Social Security Administration asked the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine''s Board on Health Care Services to organize a virtual public workshop to examine disability associated with organ transplantation. The workshop, held March 22-23, 2021, focused on kidney, heart, liver, and lung transplantation, and to a lesser extent intestine transplantation. Subject-matter experts presented on clinical aspects of post-transplantation recovery and described the implications for physical, cognitive, and psychosocial functioning in adults and children. This publication summarizes the presentations and panel discussions from the workshop.

To examine the potential role of companion animals as sentinels of relevant, shared environmental exposures that may affect human aging and cancer, the National Cancer Policy Forum held a workshop in collaboration with the Forum on Aging, Disability, and Independence and the Standing Committee on the Use of Emerging Science for Environmental Health Decisions to explore this promising and underutilized pathway for research. Presentations and panel discussions covered the current state of the science and pathways for accelerating research, along with opportunities and challenges for using this novel translational approach to exposure science to advance human health. This Proceedings of a Workshop outlines the presentations and discussions that occurred during the workshop.

With recent medical, technological, and socioeconomic developments, people are living longer. The rising average age of the world''s population presents an opportunity to develop health policy that prioritizes functioning as a goal of healthy aging. In February 2024, the National Academies convened a hybrid workshop at the University of Lucerne in Switzerland to host a discussion focused on the World Health Organization''s concept of functioning. Speakers paid particular focus to healthy aging and the future of rehabilitation as a health strategy. Experts emphasized that the need for rehabilitation is increasing due to rapid population aging accompanied by a rise in physical and mental health conditions, limitations, and injuries. The associated economic and practical obstacles of optimizing functioning across the life course were also discussed.