Patients with chronic hepatitis C undergoing watchful waiting: Exploring trajectories of illness uncertainty and fatigue |
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| Authors: | Donald E. Bailey Jr. Julie Barroso Andrew J. Muir Richard Sloane Jacqui Richmond John McHutchison Keyur Patel Lawrence Landerman Merle H. Mishel |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Duke University School of Nursing, Durham, North Carolina;2. Associate Professor of Nursing.;3. Division of Gastroenterology, Duke Clinical Research Institute, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina;4. Associate Professor of Medicine.;5. Duke University Center for Aging, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina;6. Department of Gastroenterology, St. Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, PO Box 2900, Fitzroy, Victoria 3065, Australia;7. Professor of Medicine, Associate Director.;8. Assistant Professor of Medicine.;9. Associate Research Professor of Nursing and Sociology.;10. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina;11. Kenan Distinguished Professor of Nursing. |
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| Abstract: | We identified trajectories of illness uncertainty in chronic hepatitis C patients and examined their association with fatigue levels during 12 months of disease monitoring without treatment (watchful waiting). Sixty‐two men and 63 women completed uncertainty and fatigue measures. Groups were formed by uncertainty scores (high, medium, and low) at baseline. Baseline fatigue levels were higher in the high uncertainty group than in the medium and low groups. Over time, uncertainty levels did not change. Fatigue levels in the low uncertainty group remained constant, increased in the medium, and decreased in the high groups. Findings suggest that uncertainty and fatigue do not remit spontaneously. Being aware of this may help nurses identify those patients needing support for these two concerns. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Res Nurs Health 33:465–473, 2010 |
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| Keywords: | fatigue uncertainty chronic illness gastrointestinal system |
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