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Uncertainty, symptoms, and quality of life in persons with chronic hepatitis C

Donald E Bailey1, Lawrence Landerman, Julie Barroso

  • 1Duke University School of Nursing, DUMC PO Box 3322, Durham, NC 27710, USA. chip.bailey@duke.edu

Psychosomatics
|April 21, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Illness uncertainty in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients impacts symptoms and quality of life. Ambiguity was most strongly linked to depression, fatigue, and quality of life, guiding self-management interventions.

Area of Science:

  • Hepatology
  • Psychology
  • Patient-Reported Outcomes

Background:

  • Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) is a prevalent blood-borne infection in the US.
  • Understanding illness uncertainty in CHC patients is limited.
  • Illness uncertainty significantly affects patient well-being and disease management.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the constructs of illness uncertainty in CHC patients.
  • To investigate the relationships between uncertainty, fatigue, pain, depressive symptoms, comorbidity, and quality of life (QOL).

Main Methods:

  • Cross-sectional study involving 126 CHC patients on a watchful-waiting protocol.
  • Utilized Mishel's Uncertainty in Illness Scale to assess ambiguity, complexity, inconsistency, and unpredictability.
  • Correlated uncertainty subscales with patient-reported outcomes.

Main Results:

  • The Ambiguity subscale showed the strongest associations with depressive symptoms, QOL, and fatigue.
  • Three of the four uncertainty subscales were significantly correlated with pain.
  • Illness uncertainty dimensions have a notable impact on patient experience.

Conclusions:

  • Findings highlight specific targets for patient self-management interventions.
  • Addressing illness uncertainty can improve outcomes for CHC patients.
  • Further research can refine interventions based on uncertainty constructs.
Abstract

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