Psychological support for people with hemophilia and HIV who suffer from cancer: A first national survey.

Abstract

Psychological support is necessary for people with hemophilia and HIV (PHH) who suffer from cancers. Most PHH are infected with not only HIV but also hepatitis C virus due to non-heat-treated blood coagulation factor products. PHH have a high risk of carcinogenesis, including liver cancer. Furthermore, many PHH present psychological problems, due to the great stress resulting from carcinogenesis and which impedes their cancer treatment. This study aimed to assess the psychological support system through a nationwide survey of healthcare workers caring for PHH at HIV care hospitals in Japan. The response rate was 49.1% (194/395), with a coverage rate of 74% (516/697) for PHH. Our findings indicated that psychologists were the most likely to be "coordinated" or "expected to coordinate" when PHH suffered from cancer (74%, multiple responses allowed). The most common reason for rating the adequacy of psychological support as "very good" or "good" was "easy collaboration with various professionals and medical teams". The number of HIV coordinator nurses and clinical psychologists per facility was 1.06 and 2.56, respectively. Our findings indicated more psychological support systems should be established in Japan, including reimbursement for psychological support for PHH.