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Uncertainty, Symptoms, and Quality of Life in Persons With Chronic Hepatitis C

Received March 30, 2007; revised June 8, 2007; accepted June 18, 2007. From the Duke Univ. School of Nursing; the Dept. of Medicine, Div. of Gastroenterology, Duke Univ. Medical Center; and the School of Nursing, Univ. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Send correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Donald E. Bailey Jr., Duke University School of Nursing, DUMC P.O. Box 3322, Durham, NC 27710. e-mail: chip.bailey{at}duke.edu
© 2009 The Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine

BACKGROUND: Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) is the most common blood-borne infection in the United States, but little is known about illness uncertainty in these patients. OBJECTIVE: The authors examined the constructs of illness uncertainty. METHOD: In this cross-sectional study, Mishel’s Uncertainty in Illness Scale was used to examine these constructs (ambiguity, complexity, inconsistency, unpredictability) and their relationships with fatigue, pain, depressive symptoms, comorbidity, and quality of life (QOL) in 126 CHC patients undergoing a watchful-waiting protocol. RESULTS: The Ambiguity subscale had the strongest relationships with depressive symptoms, QOL, and fatigue, and three of the four subscales were significantly correlated with pain. CONCLUSION: The results suggest targets for patient self-management interventions.

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