Patient Perspectives on Adherence to the New Hepatitis C Antiviral Medications: ‘A New Lease on Life’

Authors

Nicole M. Giordano, VA Connecticut Healthcare SystemFollow
Anthony J. Brinn, VA New York Harbor Healthcare System
Guadalupe Garcia-Tsao, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale Digestive Diseases
Steve Martino, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry

Abstract

This study explored patients’ perspectives about taking the new direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) for the treatment of Hepatitis C (i.e., sofosbuvir, simeprevir, ledipasvir/sofosbuvir, ombitasvir/paritraprevir/ritonavir and dasabuvir) to identify facilitators of medication adherence. The project was conducted using semi-structured interviews with 12 Veterans who successfully completed a treatment course on the new DAAs. The Veterans were recruited using purposive sampling. The data collected from the semi-structured interviews was analyzed using an adapted open coding method outlined by Auerbach and Silverstein (2003), with identification of relevant text sub-grouped into repeating ideas, and then creation of overarching themes and constructs. Results obtained provide insight into factors that influenced the Veterans’ medication adherence during the course of treatment. Key constructs, embodying major themes supported by repeating ideas, included recognizing the “burden of HCV,” the importance of the “treatment engagement process,” and anticipation of “positive outcomes.” Clinical implications are discussed.

Keywords

Hepatitis C, Adherence, Health Care, Health Behavior, Progressive, Quality of Life, Qualitative Research, Semi-Structured Interviews

Author Bio(s)

Nicole M. Giordano, PsyD, is a psychologist at VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, Connecticut, USA. Correspondence regarding this article can be addressed directly to: Nicole.Giordano@va.gov.

Anthony J. Brinn, PsyD, is a psychologist at the VA New York Harbor Healthcare System, New York City, New York, USA. Correspondence regarding this article can be addressed directly to: Anthony.Brinn@va.gov.

Guadalupe Garcia-Tsao, MD, is the Chief, Digestive Diseases and Program Director, Hepatitis C Resource Center, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, Connecticut and Professor of Medicine (Digestive Diseases) and Director, Clinical and Translational Core, Yale Liver Center at Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA. Correspondence regarding this article can be addressed directly to: Guadalupe.Garcia-Tsao@yale.edu.

Steve Martino, PhD, is the Chief, Psychology Service at VA Connecticut Healthcare System in West Haven, Connecticut and Professor of Psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA. Correspondence regarding this article can be addressed directly to: Steve.Martino@yale.edu.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the participants for their invaluable willingness to share their personal experiences.

Publication Date

1-20-2018

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2018.2740

Recommended APA Citation

Giordano, N. M., Brinn, A. J., Garcia-Tsao, G., & Martino, S. (2018). Patient Perspectives on Adherence to the New Hepatitis C Antiviral Medications: ‘A New Lease on Life’. The Qualitative Report, 23(1), 184-203. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2018.2740