The psychological care of HCT recipients in the UK
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploratory Study about the structure and adequacy of Psychological Care available to recipients of Haematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HCT) within the UK
IRAS ID
280061
Contact name
Alejandro Madrigal
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University College London
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Z6364106/2020/06/50, UCL Data Protection
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 0 days
Research summary
Haematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is an life saving and life threatening therapy that provides a chance of cure for conditions that may otherwise be associated with a high rate of mortality. Studies show that it may be associated with high levels of psychological distress or disorders both pre-transplant and post-transplant. However, psychological care provision is not mandatory. It is unclear what levels of psychological care is being provided by transplant centres and how adequate these are to facilitate patients psychological adjustment to this treatment.
So far, there have only been two studies that have looked into this in the UK. One qualitative study consisted of semi-structured interviews of health care professionals at each of three centres. The study found that the service structure was variable between centres, with most relying heavily on support from doctors and nurses. The second study was a systematic review of psychological interventions that are used and this showed that they are highly variable and that there is insufficient evidence that they are actually effective. There are no studies that describe patients’ experiences of undergoing HCT and the psychological support they received at each stage.
This qualitative study will recruit approximately 20-30 patients across three NHS transplant centres. Patients who are scheduled to undergo allogeneic HCT or have had it in the previous 2 years will be eligible to participate. The study population will have a heterogenous demographic background and will include some patients who live far from the tretament centre. Patients will be asked to describe their experience with specific reference to how it affected their thoughts and feelings at different stages. They will be asked what psychological support was available to them and what impacted on their ability to access support. The study is cross sectional and each participant will be interviewed only once.
REC name
North of Scotland Research Ethics Committee 2
REC reference
20/NS/0091
Date of REC Opinion
17 Aug 2020
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion