[Perception of quality of life related with health and depression in patients with hemophilia]

BACKGROUND

Hemophilia is a hemorrhagic disease characterized by the deficiency of either coagulation factor VIII or IX. It impacts negatively in people's quality of life and it causes side effects, such as depression. The objective was to describe and analyze the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and depression levels in a group of 50 pediatric patients with hemophilia (PPwH) and their parents. The specific objectives were: to analyze the correlation between HRQoL levels reported by patients and their parents, and to analyze the correlation between HRQoL levels and depression in PPwH.

METHODS

Descriptive, cross-sectional and correlational study with a group of 50 PPwH and their parents. The Pediatric Life Quality Questionnaire [PedsQLTM 4.0] was completed by PPwH and their parents and the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) was answered only by PPwH.

RESULTS

The average age of PPwH was 10.66 years (SD = 2.61) and that of parents was 36.28 years (SD = 6.4). 82% suffered from hemophilia A and 70% suffered from severe hemophilia. 78% of participants felt at risk or at high risk with regards to their quality of life, and, concerning their depression levels, we found moderate symptoms in 54% and severe symptoms in 10%.

CONCLUSIONS

The HRQoL and depression levels we found are alarming. They show the importance of evaluating objective and subjective indicators; in addition, we emphasize the need of assisting the severe cases detected and suggest the activities to face these health issues.

Adherence to Prophylaxis in Adolescents and Young Adults with Severe Haemophilia: A Quantitative Study with Patients

INTRODUCTION

haemophilia is an inherited bleeding disorder caused by a deficiency in one of the blood coagulation factors. For people affected by severe haemophilia, the deficiency can cause spontaneous internal bleeding. Most young people with severe haemophilia in the UK follow a preventative treatment regimen (prophylaxis) consisting of several intravenous injections of factor concentrate each week. There is good evidence that prophylaxis reduces bleeds whilst also improving quality of life. However, levels of adherence among young people with haemophilia reported in the existing literature vary widely and are predominately based on estimations made by healthcare professionals and parents. Additionally, drivers of (non)adherence among young people specifically have not been evidenced.

AIM

to assess self-reported adherence among young people with haemophilia, provide evidence of psychosocial predictors of adherence, and to establish the associations between non-adherence and number of bleeds and hospital visits.

METHODS

91 participants were recruited during outpatient appointments in 13 haemophilia centres across England and Wales, and invited to complete a questionnaire assessing self-reported adherence (VERITAS-Pro), Haemophilia-related pain and impact of pain, Illness Perceptions, Beliefs about Medications, Self-efficacy, Outcome expectations, Positive and Negative Affect, and Social support. Number of hospital visits and bleeds during the previous six months were collected from medical files.

RESULTS

Of 78 participants with complete data, just 18% had scores indicating non-adherence. Psychosocial predictors differed between intentional (skipping) and un-intentional (forgetting) non-adherence. Overall, however, better adherence was reported where participants perceived the need for prophylaxis was greater than their concern over taking it as well as having a positive expectancy of its effectiveness, good social support and a stronger emotional reaction to having haemophilia.

CONCLUSION

The findings indicate that adherence is generally good, and that assessing illness and treatment beliefs, social support and outcome expectations may play a valuable role in identifying which individuals are at risk of non-adherence. Interventions aimed at improving adherence should particularly consider improving social support, reducing patients' concerns about prophylaxis, increasing their belief in the necessity of prophylaxis, and increasing positive outcome expectations.

Achieving self-management of prophylactic treatment in adolescents: The case of haemophilia

OBJECTIVE

Adolescents with a chronic disorder, such as haemophilia, need to attain responsibility for their disease. The aim was to gain insight into how adolescents achieve self-management of prophylactic treatment.

METHODS

In three Dutch Haemophilia Treatment Centres, adolescents (10-25 years) received structured questions on treatment responsibility and self-management (pre-specified definitions) during routine nursing consultation.

RESULTS

In total, 155 interviews were performed in 100 patients (median age 14.4 years). Self-infusion was initiated at a median age of 12.3 years (IQR 11.5-13.0) and self-management was achieved 9.6 years later, at a median age of 22.6 years. This process included three phases coinciding with known stages of adolescence. In early adolescence, patients acquired the technique of self-infusion (12.3 years) leading to independent self-infusion in middle adolescence (17.2 years). In late adolescence, patients demonstrated an increase in more complex skills, such as bleeding management and communication with the haemophilia physician (19.9-22.6 years).

CONCLUSION

Although, the first steps in self-management with regard to self-infusion are taken in early adolescence, complete self-management was achieved in late adolescence after almost 10 years.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Insight in this transitional process helps to provide individualized support and emphasizes the need for continued education with regard to self-management skills.

Social/economic costs and quality of life in patients with haemophilia in Europe

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to determine the economic burden from a societal perspective and the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of patients with haemophilia in Europe.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional study of patients with haemophilia from Bulgaria, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Spain Sweden and the UK. Data on demographic characteristics, health resource utilisation, informal care, loss of labour productivity and HRQOL were collected from the questionnaires completed by patients or their caregivers. HRQOL was measured with the EuroQol 5-domain (EQ-5D) questionnaire. The costs have been estimated from a societal perspective adopting a bottom-up approach.

RESULTS

A total of 401 questionnaires were included in the study, of which 339 were collected from patients with haemophilia and 62 from caregivers. The lowest average annual cost per person was reported in Bulgaria (€6,660) and the highest in Germany (€194,490). Our results demonstrate both a large difference from country to country in the average annual cost per patient in 2012 and the driving role of drugs in costs. Drugs represent nearly 90 % of direct healthcare costs in a majority of the countries analysed (Hungary, Italy, Spain and Germany). In Bulgaria, France and Sweden, however, healthcare services (visits, tests and hospitalisations) prevail. Costs are also shown to differ between children and adults. The mean EQ-5D index score for adult patients was 0.69 and mean EQ-5D VAS was 66.6. The mean EQ-5D index score for carers was 0.87 and mean EQ-5D VAS was 75.5. In the disability score, 60 % showed no disability and measuring caregiver burden with the Zarit Index produced an overall mean score of 25.3.

CONCLUSION

We have shown that haemophilia is associated with a substantial economic burden and impaired HRQOL. Studies on cost of illness and HRQOL are important for haemophilia as the future of this disease is likely to change with the development of new innovative treatments. The introduction of these treatments will most likely impact future costs related to haemophilia.

Shared topics on the experience of people with haemophilia living in the UK and the USA and the influence of individual and contextual variables: Results from the HERO qualitative study

The study illuminates the subjective experience of haemophilia in people who took part in the Haemophilia Experience, Results and Opportunities (HERO) initiative, a quali-quantitative research program aimed at exploring psychosocial issues concerning this illness around the world. Applying a bottom-up analytic process with the help of software for textual data, we investigated 19 interviews in order to describe the core themes and the latent factors of speech, to explore the role of different variables in shaping the participants' illness experiences. The five themes detected are feeling different from others, body pain, acquisition of knowledge and resources, family history, and integration of care practices in everyday life. We illustrate how nationality, age, family situation, the use of prophylaxis or on-demand treatment, and the presence of human immunodeficiency virus or hepatitis C virus affect the experience of our participants in different ways. Findings are used to bring insights on research, clinical practice, and psychosocial support.

Social Worker Perceptions and Observations Regarding Men's Management of Hemophilia and Use of Community-Based Support

The study reported in this article was conducted in response to Utah service provider concerns that men with hemophilia may be disengaged from their local community-based support network. This study explored the challenges, adaptations, and needs of men with hemophilia from the perspective of Hemophilia Treatment Center (HTC) social workers. Utah's two active HTC social workers participated in face-to-face interviews. Fourteen HTC social workers from surrounding regions completed written interviews. The researcher used a qualitative, grounded theory approach to analyze the data. Resilience theory provided a lens for interpreting the results. Findings from these professionals indicate that men with hemophilia appear to be ambivalent toward services that are available to them for reasons that include work and insurance status, prior personal history with the bleeding disorders community, strength of relationship with local service providers, degree of customization of HTC services, and the desire to maintain personal independence. Understanding this dynamic may be helpful in developing services that are more specifically tailored to the needs of men with hemophilia, in addition to potentially providing stronger community-based support to men with other genetic disorders.

Updating the Canadian hemophilia outcomes-kids life assessment tool (CHO-KLAT Version2.0)

OBJECTIVES

Hemophilia is an X-chromosome-linked disorder associated with recurrent bleeding into muscles and joints, leading to pain and limitations in physical function that may diminish quality of life. The Canadian Hemophilia Outcomes-Kids Life Assessment Tool (CHO-KLAT) is a disease-specific measure of quality of life that was recently revised to facilitate cross-cultural adaptation. This study assessed the validity and reliability of version 2.0 of the CHO-KLAT (CHO-KLAT2.0).

METHODS

Content validity was assessed via detailed cognitive debriefing to confirm that Canadian boys understood the CHO-KLAT2.0. The measurement properties of the CHO-KLAT2.0 were assessed in comparison to those of the PedsQL, the Haemo-QoL, and two global ratings. Most children completed the CHO-KLAT2.0 a second time to assess test-retest reliability.

RESULTS

Cognitive debriefing was completed with 12 boys (age 8.6-17.8 years) and 9 of their parents and resulted in no substantive changes. Sixty boys (mean age 11.8 years) participated in the validation phase, which showed a mean CHO-KLAT2.0 score of 75.4±12.0, strong correlations with the PedsQL (r = 0.62, P<0.001) and Haemo-QoL (r = 0.64, P<0.001), and moderate correlations with global ratings of hemophilia bother (ρ =-0.39, P = 0.002) and health (ρ =-0.47, P = 0.0002). Test-retest concordance was better among parents (0.79) than among boys (0.63).

CONCLUSIONS

This study establishes the measurement properties of the CHO-KLAT2.0. The summary scores are very similar to those from the original development study, and thus, these have not been affected by the revisions. These results provide reference standards for comparing data from other countries to the Canadian experience and to estimate sample sizes for future clinical trials.

Multimethodology research with boys with severe haemophilia

AIM

To describe the use of an innovative, multimethodological approach to exploring the day-to-day experiences of boys across a wide age range to better understand the effects of modern haemophilia treatment on their lives.

BACKGROUND

Children and young people with severe haemophilia can now be treated with prophylaxis and potentially have a lifestyle close to that of those without haemophilia. However, boys frequently describe living with haemophilia as burdensome.

DATA SOURCES

The study, based on a grounded theory approach, was conducted with boys aged four to 16 years old, using research methods that included photo-elicitation, 'draw and write' techniques, focus groups run by participant co-researchers and individual interviews.

REVIEW METHODS

Grounded theory was used to enable rich data capture, through reshaping of research questions as theory developed.

DISCUSSION

The effectiveness of the methods used is discussed, along with consideration of the issues raised.

CONCLUSION

These methods are effective for use with children. They can result in robust data and are also fun for child participants.

IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH/PRACTICE

Understanding life with chronic disease from a child's perspective can improve clinical care through a better understanding of health behaviour and lifestyle implications.

Energy dialogue technique in healing and health: relieving side effects and thyroid dysfunction in a male with hemophilia receiving pegylated interferon and ribavirin treatment for hepatitis C virus--an anecdotal case study

This article describes the use of energy dialogue technique (EDT), a healing intervention that provides awareness of imbalances in the energetic field that affect patients' health and guide the practitioner to sense and direct the frequency, vibration, intention, awareness, or consciousness to correct these imbalances. The authors document the effectiveness of this technique as it was used to treat side effects of the medical intervention for hepatitis C in a male with hemophilia. Following EDT, the client's symptoms of fatigue and pain improved by 30% to 40%; moreover, thyroid function returned to normal. The authors suggest that EDT be studied and explored for inclusion as a treatment modality.

[Life with haemophilia. The patient's perspective of ageing]

Patients with haemophilia are growing older and may be faced with age-dependent co-morbidities. To evaluate the impact of growing age in patients with haemophilia, a questionaire was sent to members of German patients' organisations DHG and IGH with focus on medical care and psychosocial questions. This questionnaire was answered by 466 individuals (aged 50 years, 21-85 years), predominantly suffering from severe haemophilia. The majority of individuals considered the question of substitution of factor concentrates in case of bleeding as most important. Concerns were expressed regarding the financial situation and lack of medical care in higher age. The results provide an insight into issues of growing age from the patient's perspective.

[Life quality improvement in hemophilia patients after esthetical teeth restoration]

to study the effect of esthetical teeth restoration on life quality in hemophilia patients. Life quality was assessed by means of adapted OHIP-14 questionary translated into Russian. The study showed life quality to be sensible to dental status: cavities, dental arch defects, poor restorations and dentures. Dental treatment tends to improve life quality in hemophilia patients.

Process of normalization in families with children affected by hemophilia

To understand the normalization process in families with hemophiliac children, and to explore the impact of two different therapeutic regimes on it (on-demand therapy and prophylaxis), we conducted a two-phase study using semistructured interviews. In the course of the first phase, we interviewed 13 parents belonging to 10 families with hemophiliac children in on-demand therapy. In the second phase, 5 years later, we repeated the interviews with three families who began prophylaxis at different times. We analyzed the interviews using text analysis software. The results show very different representations of hemophilia and daily life. Normalization processes involve the overcoming of a divided conception of life, and encourage the integration of care practices within daily life. Moreover, in our article we suggest that although prophylaxis facilitates the recovery of a regular family routine, it alone cannot produce normalization.

Haemophilia patients with HIV- and HCV-infection. Long term survival

At present (2010), we investigate in a long term study on psychosocial aspects of haemophilia at the Munich Haemophilia Centre factors which could be held responsible for the large number of still living HIV+ patients while many patients died from AIDS or from diseases caused by HCV during the 1990ies.

PATIENTS, METHODS

We retrospectively compare medical and psychosocial data of 15 HIV+ long term survivors (L-S), 15 HIV+ later on deceased patients and 15 HIV-, all of them deriving from the original investigation group from 1985 including 52 patients (30 HIV+, 22 HIV-). We prove the validity of our psychosocial factors by the SF 36 which currently serves as gold standard. The actual psychosocial factors and medical parameters of the 15 L-S are checked against the data of the 15 HIV- patients.

RESULTS, CONCLUSION

In 1985 already, we retrospectively found significantly higher values regarding psychosocial factors within the group of the L-S as opposed to the later on deceased ones. Highly significant are the facts that more than 90 % of HIV+ L-S have had a good relationship to their fathers and are still employed today in contrast to the deceased HIV+ patients. At present, the differences regarding psychosocial factors between HIV+ L-S and HIV-negative patients are vanishing.

Social challenges for children with hemophilia: child and parent perspectives

The impact of pediatric chronic illness on peer relations and social adjustment in nine school-aged boys with hemophilia was examined using qualitative interview methods. Literature on boys' psychosocial development provided a theoretical perspective to interpret findings. Three main themes emerged from the interviews: Awareness of difference, efforts to conceal difference, and efforts to connect with peers and friends. Findings suggest that hemophilia may be a socially stigmatizing condition for many boys because it limits gender-typical interactions with same-sex peers. Recommendations are offered for research on interventions to assist children in communicating with peers about their health condition and to involve close friends and parents in such interventions.

[A quarter century of psychosocial haemophilia-counseling]

With the development of clotting-factors in the seventies the haemophilia patients were released from being handicapped and began to live a quite normal life. Thus, psychosocial counselling did not seem to be necessary. But the impact of HIV-infection to the world of haemophilia was so intense that professional help was offered at the Munich Hemophilia Centre since 1985. During the preceeding 25 years we talked to about 120 patients and relatives every year in more than 10000 psychotherapeutic talks. 70 of our patients were HIV-infected. For about half of them we took care until they died on AIDS or of liver-disease. The other 50 patients (HIV-negative) were also distressed enormously. At the beginning the highlights in counselling were e. g. fear of manifestation of AIDS, dying and death, social stigma. Around 1993 with the decoding of HCV and the first useful HIV therapies the topics in counselling changed: New HIV-medical-treatment, menacing by HCV, wish for own children due to improved HIV medical care etc.

CONCLUSION

Our experiences have shown that self esteem and social integration of haemophilia patients have reached again normality. By our psychosocial counselling we would like to contribute.

Challenges of patient-reported outcome assessment in hemophilia care—a state of the art review

INTRODUCTION

One of the recent advances in assessing outcomes of medical care is the inclusion of the patient perspective. The term patient-reported outcome (PRO) is used to reflect the patient perceptions of disease and its consequences as well as of treatment and health-care provision. The development of PRO measures has advanced rapidly, and implementation in clinical research and practice is now underway. From an evaluation perspective, recommendations for the choice of PRO measures and an appraisal of the potential benefits of PRO data collection within specific health conditions are needed.

METHODS

Hemophilia is a rare and clinically well-defined health condition with established and cost-intensive treatment strategies, in which PRO assessment is increasingly recognized as important. For this reason, measurement of PROs in hemophilia focusing on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and patient preferences were reviewed to identify appropriate measures, to make recommendations for their choice, and to critically examine their impact in international hemophilia research and practice.

RESULTS

Using literature searches and expert discussion strategies, generic and targeted measures for HRQoL and patient preferences in adults and children with hemophilia were screened, and 20 were reviewed on the basis of their psychometric properties and international availability. Only a few of the 20 measures have been used in clinical settings or research related to persons with hemophilia.

CONCLUSION

Consequently, an increased use of these measures is recommended to understand patient views on disease and treatment and to judge the impact of PROs for improvements in health care.