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Primary Concerns of HCV Patients

May 5, 2005

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As researchers learn more about what issues are of most importance to patients they will be able to provide more relevant information and support.

What Are the Primary Concerns and Priorities of Individuals with Chronic Hepatitis C?

Counseling of patients with chronic hepatitis C infection is often limited to discussions regarding how the virus is transmitted and what can be done to decrease the risk of transmission to others. The purpose of the present study was to document the principal concerns of newly diagnosed and follow-up patients with chronic hepatitis C, and thereby enhance counseling strategies and content.

Seventy newly diagnosed and 115 follow-up patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection were initially asked in an open-ended manner (volunteered concerns) and then to prioritize from a prepared list of seven potential concerns (prioritized concerns), to identify those concerns that were of utmost importance to them.

- The most common volunteered concerns of newly diagnosed patients
in decreasing order were:
- disease progression (27%)
- premature death (19%)
- infecting family members (13%) and
- side-effects of treatment (11%)

In decreasing order, prioritized concerns included:
- infecting family members
- development of liver cancer
- infecting others
- development of cirrhosis
- social stigma of having liver disease
- need for liver transplant, and
- loss of employment

The principal volunteered and prioritized concerns of follow-up patients were similar to those of newly diagnosed patients. Volunteered and prioritized concerns were relatively consistent across the different genders, age groups, ethnic backgrounds, education level, marital status, employment, and modes of viral acquisition, and in the case of follow-up patients, duration of follow-up.

The authors conclude, "These results indicate that health care providers who focus counseling efforts exclusively on viral transmission are unlikely to address other important concerns of newly diagnosed and follow-up patients with chronic HCV infection."

Reference
G Y Minuk and others. Patient concerns regarding chronic hepatitis C infections. Journal of Viral Hepatitis 12(1): 51-57. January 2005.

Posted by Ralph at May 5, 2005 12:30 PM