Experiences and Perceptions of Patients Living With Hepatitis C in Karachi, Pakistan

Abstract

Patients with HCV experience profound challenges that are influenced by their level of education, financial capacity, cultural norms, family support, and the sensitivity of health care professionals. Several cultural practices existing in Pakistan identify the need for public awareness. The findings on health care professionals have implications for nursing and allied health continuing education.

Experiences of stigma among hepatitis B and C patients in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan

“…The behaviour of family members or friends has been reported to result in feelings of depression and isolation (23) and it was also reported previously by patients in Karachi, Pakistan, that they faced difficulties from their family member resulting in increased suffering (13). Breakup of relationships with spouses or fiancés were noted in this study and were also reported in a study from the United States (15).…”

“…A recent study from Karachi reported that HCV patients had to face a number of problems which varied according to patients' education, income, societal and family background as well as the behaviour of health-care providers (13). However, few data are available that describe the experiences and stigma associated with both different types of hepatitis.…”

Living with Hepatitis C Virus: A Systematic Review and Narrative Synthesis of Qualitative Literature

“…Seventeen studies were conducted in Australia [21–23, 25, 30, 32, 33, 38, 39, 51, 53, 56–59, 64, 65], fifteen in the UK [24, 31, 34, 35, 37, 40, 46, 47, 49, 52, 55, 60, 61, 63, 66], eight in the United States [26, 27, 36, 41, 43, 48, 54, 62], four in Canada [28, 29, 45, 50], and one each from Pakistan [42] and France [44]. The studies were published between 1999 [39] and 2014 [40, 48].…”

“…Study participants reported a variety of physical symptoms, such as fatigue [27, 30, 33–36, 40, 42, 46, 54, 62, 64, 66], weakness [27, 35], nausea [27, 30, 34, 64], pain [27, 34, 36, 42, 64, 66], swelling [27], headaches [30, 64], and sweating [30]. In addition, a number of studies reported participants experiencing psychological symptoms such as depression [27, 30, 66], anxiety or panic attacks [35], and irritability [36, 62].…”

“…Some reported that relationships were strengthened due to the diagnosis [33, 36, 42, 52, 60, 62], while others found that HCV negatively impacted relationships [26, 30, 33, 42, 51]. Those who felt that their relationships were strengthened said that they felt more supported and closer to their family after being diagnosed with HCV [33, 36, 42, 52, 60, 62].…”