How do haematology patients make sense of clinical information? : a qualitative study

• Main Author: Atherton, Kirsten
• Published: University of Liverpool 2015
• Subjects: 616.89; BF Psychology
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.677518

Haematological cancers are often unpredictable, leaving clinical decisions to be made throughout the trajectory of the illness. In this context, the way patients make sense of complex clinical information becomes particularly important. The study aimed to understand the ways in which patients make sense of clinical results, and to identify the psychological and other influences on this process. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 patients who had been diagnosed with haematological cancer and had received results from clinical investigations or relating to treatment response. A constant comparative approach was taken for analysis. Patients described the need for information to be carefully managed, and the alarming nature of information that they did not experience as having been managed for them. Where patients had difficulty trusting their clinician they found it more difficult to accept and be content with the information the clinician provided. These findings can be illuminated using attachment theory. There are also clinical implications for how clinicians could give patients confidence in their ability to manage the uncertainty associated with haematological cancer. By facilitating an attachment process patients could be helped to feel that they are able to trust and build hope from the information they receive.