Abstract
Objective
The purpose of the study was to arrive at an accurate description of health-related quality of life of hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia patients.
Methods
Thirteen semi-structured interviews were conducted in patients with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia.
Results
Qualitative grounded theory analyses were performed using the participants’ transcripts and revealed the following six categories: Impact of physical symptoms on daily life, Quality of family and social life, Emotional and psychological outcomes related to the disease, Knowledge having a severe disease and coping strategies to manage such disease, Recognition of the disease by professional colleagues and superiors, and Knowledge and understanding from health professionals in medical care.
Conclusion
The definition of quality of life that emerged from the participants’ transcripts was essentially related to health. Individuals with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia mainly focused on the physical, psychological and emotional impacts of the symptoms and their consequences on professional life and social activities. Family relationships were also highlighted in the participants’ transcripts. As such, HHT patients used coping strategies to manage their disease. Finally, a particularly salient issue referred to the lack of knowledge concerning the rare nature of this disease and the ensuing inherent sense of misunderstanding.
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This non-interventional study was conducted in accordance with international ethical guidelines consistent with the American Psychological Association norms and the Declaration of Helsinki. Agreement from the National Commission for Liberties and Data Protection (Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés, CNIL) was obtained. All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and national research committee (CNIL 1814564 v 0) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
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Martinent, G., Carrot, M., Chirac, A. et al. Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia and health-related quality of life: a qualitative investigation. Qual Life Res 29, 1291–1299 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-020-02415-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-020-02415-7