The patients’ experience of receiving a diagnosis of liver disease.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The patients’ experience of receiving a diagnosis of liver disease – An exploratory study.
IRAS ID
136256
Contact name
Audrey Cund
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of the West of Scotland
Research summary
Liver disease is now the 5th most common cause of death in the UK, with Scotland cited as the country with the fastest growing rates of chronic liver disease (National Plan for Liver Services, 2009). Although liver disease is a growing problem in Scotland, little is known about how the patient feels when they have been diagnosed with liver disease then subsequently enter services, particularly nurse-led services for ongoing monitoring.
Being diagnosed with liver disease can sometimes be upsetting and worrying. Liver disease is complex and varied, meaning that no one person’s experience is the same as another’s. This study is about exploring how a patient feels when they receive a diagnosis of liver disease, how this impacts their quality of life and how they feel about engaging with liver services for ongoing monitoring of their disease.
Participants for the study will be patients diagnosed with liver disease who currently attend one of the NHS Lanarkshire acute hospital outpatient liver clinics. Participants will be invited to take part in a one off semi-structured interview which will last for no longer than 40 minutes and will take place in a quiet room within the hospital clinic area. This study is qualitative and supported by UWS and NHSL as part of work towards an MSc in Health Studies. The benefit of this study is to allow patients’ voices to be heard and acknowledged and their opinions to be taken on board when developing future services for liver disease.REC name
North West - Preston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/NW/0816
Date of REC Opinion
20 Nov 2013
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion