Domains of supportive care needs and commonly reported specific need items reported by patients included four studies which used a needs assessment tool to collect data
| Author | Diseased group | Domains | Need items commonly reported by study participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Balfour et al31 | Hepatitis C | Information/education needs Patient care and support | ▸ 52% rated their current knowledge of liver disease as being inadequate ▸ 91% regarded receiving information about HCV as ‘important/very important’ ▸ 31% were very dissatisfied/dissatisfied with access to specialists services (eg, pharmacist, psychologists) ▸ Percentages regarding access to services as ‘important-very/important’: 76% HCV drug plans, 68% psychological counselling, 66% nutritionist, 63% pharmacist, 63% support for family/partners, 48% support groups |
| Zandi et al37 | Cirrhosis | Information/education needs Physical needs Psychological | The study assessed patients’ educational needs. Below is the percentage of patients reporting need for: ▸ 65% curative ways in cirrhosis (being treatable/not treatable) ▸ 45% routes of transmission as well as diagnostic tests ▸ 70% controlling or reducing abdominal distention ▸ 65% ways of controlling fatigue ▸ 60% principles of care and proper medications ▸ 50% controlling pruritus and fatigue ▸ 55% worry |
| Chang et al21 | Hepatitis C | Practical support | ▸ 47.8% reported moderate to severe financial stress |
| Jennings 26 | Hepatitis C | Information/education needs Patient support | ▸ 71% disagreed that there was an adequate amount of educational material about hepatitis C in the clinic ▸ 67% thought that their support person was interested in receiving educational materials about hepatitis C ▸ 78% thought that their support person would be interested in participating in educational sessions ▸ 61% would be interested in joining a regular support group at the clinic ▸ 42% thought that it would be beneficial for their support person to join a caregiver support group |
| Grogan et al38 | Hepatitis C | Information/education needs Patient support | The study assessed patients’ perceptions of support received from the nurse specialist during HCV treatment. There were low levels of disagreement that ‘The nurse provided …’: ▸ 17% advice on how to maintain a healthy balanced diet ▸ 14% advice on sleep management ▸ 12% advices on energy conservation ▸ 12% advice on physical exercise ▸ 14% information on support groups that were available to me ▸ 18% ongoing support postcompletion of treatment |
HCV, hepatitis C virus.