Living with Hepatitis C: Qualitative Interviews with Hepatitis C-infected Veterans

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Chronic hepatitis C (HCV) infection affects millions of people in the USA and prevalence rates are higher in US veterans. The consequences of HCV infection include reduced quality of life, liver damage, and reduced longevity. OBJECTIVE:Our objective was to describe the experiences of US veterans living with chronic HCV infection and use this information in the development of an HCV self-management intervention.METHODS: Twenty-two male HCV-infected veterans completed qualitative interviews. Participants were recruited via flyers and hepatitis C clinic providers at a major VA medical center. Participants were asked about their medical history, being diagnosed with HCV, and general experiences living with HCV. RESULTS:The study gathered the following findings: the impact of HCV on interpersonal relationships was pronounced, recovery from substance use disorders and getting care for HCV were connected, receiving the HCV diagnosis was more troubling to non-IV drug users, participants had misconceptions about HCV and its treatment, psychological problems were prevalent as were barriers to participating in antiviral treatment and HCV care in general. CONCLUSION:The themes derived from our analysis indicate that affected veterans may benefit from interventions or support to improve HCV-related health education, social/relationship issues, psychological issues, and exploration of the connection between substance use recovery and motivation to get care for HCV infection.

Correlates of quality of life in China rural–urban female migrate workers

“…Social support is very important to health outcomes and has a positive effect on QOL [31]. Good social relationships (including relationship with the relatives and friends) are the most commonly reported constituent influencing QOL in the elderly [32,33], women postpartum [34] and hepatitis C-infected veterans [35]. Rural-urban female migrant workers were facing poor social support, social accommodation, living and work environment [36].…”

The hepatitis C self‐management programme: a randomized controlled trial

“…Long-term medical consequences of HCV include cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma [6] and/or the need for liver transplant [7]. In addition, most HCV-infected individuals experience a variety of physical and psychological symptoms, functional limitations and impaired quality of life as a result of having HCV and co-existing chronic health problems [8,9].Treatment with antiviral medications eliminates the virus in many patients [10,11], but lower success rates have been found outside of clinical trials [12]. Nevertheless, the vast majority of patients are either ineligible for treatment, refuse treatment, fail treatment, or treated with watchful waiting [13].…”

“…Yet, many patients may not have the information or skills required to adhere to these recommendations successfully [8].…”

Optimizing the Dose and Duration of Therapy for ChronicHepatitis C

“…5 In HCV-infected individuals not experiencing severe consequences, health-related quality of life is often impacted. [6][7][8][9] Symptoms include fatigue, abdominal pain, nausea, and weight loss; and daily functioning is affected. In addition, anxiety and depression can emerge after being diagnosed with HCV, or from living with a serious, potentially lethal chronic disease.…”

“…In addition, anxiety and depression can emerge after being diagnosed with HCV, or from living with a serious, potentially lethal chronic disease. 6,9 Currently, the most powerful tool for clinicians seeking to diminish the impact of HCV on morbidity and mortality are combination antiviral drug regimens that can potentially eradicate the virus in more than half of treated patients. 10 Approved antiviral drug regimens for HCV include several types of interferon alfa (standard interferon alfa-2b, consensus interferon (CIFN), and two types of pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN), alfa-2a and alfa-2b; which are given in combination with ribavirin (RBV).…”