"Pain is Subjective": A Mixed-Methods Study of Provider Attitudes and Practices Regarding Pain Management in Sickle Cell Disease Across Three Countries.

CONTEXT: Sickle cell disease (SCD), an autosomal recessive blood disorder, affects millions of people worldwide. Approximately 80% of all cases are located in Africa. OBJECTIVES: This cross-national, interdisciplinary, collaborative study investigated provider attitudes about, and practices for, managing (assessing and treating) SCD pain. METHODS: We conducted 111 quantitative surveys and 52 semistructured interviews with health-care providers caring for adults and/or children with SCD in Cameroon, Jamaica, and the U.S. RESULTS: Applying Haywood's scale for assessing SCD provider attitudes, the Jamaica site scored lower on "Negative Attitudes" than the Cameroonian and U.S. sites (P = 0.03 and <0.001, respectively). Providers at the U.S. site scored lower on "Positive Attitudes" than other sites (P < 0.001). "Red Flag" scores at the Cameroon sites were lower than at other sites (P < 0.001). Qualitative results across all three sites describe the current practices for SCD pain management, as well as the challenges surrounding management for health providers, including pain subjectivity, patient-provider and parent-provider relationships, resource availability, perceptions of drug-seeking behavior, and adherence. Providers also spontaneously offered solutions to reported challenges. CONCLUSION: Overall, findings reveal that SCD provider attitudes toward their patients differed across sites, yet at all three sites, treating SCD pain is multidimensional.

HIV Cure Research: Risks Patients Expressed Willingness to Accept.

Despite doing well on antiretroviral therapy, many people living with HIV have expressed a willingness to accept substantial risks for an HIV cure. To date, few studies have assessed the specific quantitative maximal risk that future participants might take; probed whether, according to future participants, the risk can be offset by the benefits; and examined whether taking substantial risk is a reasonable decision. In this qualitative study, we interviewed 22 people living with HIV and used standard gamble methodology to assess the maximum chance of death a person would risk for an HIV cure. We probed participants' reasoning behind their risk-taking responses. Conventional inductive content analysis was used to categorize key themes regarding decision-making. We found that some people would be willing to risk even death for an HIV cure, and some of their reasons were plausible and went far beyond the health-related utility of an HIV cure. We contend that people's expressed willingness to take substantial risk for an HIV cure should not be dismissed out of hand.

Neurologic Outcome After Prematurity: Perspectives of Parents and Clinicians.

BACKGROUND: Parents and clinicians caring for premature infants face high-stakes and time-sensitive decisions about care. We aimed to characterize how parents and clinicians discuss outcome in the context of decision-making for premature infants. METHODS: In this qualitative descriptive study, we used a case-based, prospective design. Cases of extreme prematurity were targeted. Parents and clinicians completed semistructured interviews about care decisions longitudinally in the first year of life. Interview data were analyzed by using directed content analysis. RESULTS: Sixteen parents and 53 clinicians of 10 infants completed 178 interviews (n = 115 parent; n = 63 clinician). Two primary themes emerged. First, parents and clinicians discussed prognostic information differently from each other. Parents focused on whether their infant would survive, whereas clinicians concentrated on neurologic outcome and the potential for life with disability. Parent discussion of the future was broad and rooted in hope and spirituality. Clinician prognostic language was narrowly focused and probabilistic. Second, we identified barriers and facilitators to a shared understanding of infant outcome. Clinicians perceived that parents were unaware of or unable to process important information about the big picture. Parents valued consistent therapeutic relationships; transitions of care and underused roles of the care team undermined this consistency. Clinical uncertainty forced parents and clinicians to "wait and see" about the future. CONCLUSIONS: Parents and clinicians discuss and weigh information about the future differently from each other as they consider choices for extremely premature infants. Future work should characterize the impact of these differences on prognostic communication and decision-making.

What risk of death would people take to be cured of HIV and why? A survey of people living with HIV.

People living with HIV (PLWHIV) can reasonably expect near-normal longevity, yet many express a willingness to assume significant risks to be cured. We surveyed 200 PLWHIV who were stable on antiretroviral therapy (ART) to quantify associations between the benefits they anticipate from a cure and their risk tolerance for curative treatments. Sixty-five per cent expected their health to improve if cured of HIV, 41% predicted the virus would stop responding to medications over the next 20 years and 54% predicted experiencing serious medication side effects in the next 20 years. Respondents' willingness to risk death for a cure varied widely (median 10%, 75th percentile 50%). In multivariate analyses, willingness to risk death was associated with expected long-term side effects of ART, greater financial resources and being employed (all P < 0.05) but was not associated with perceptions of how their health would improve if cured.

Neurodevelopmental Risk: A Tool to Enhance Conversations With Families of Infants.

Parents of infants at risk of neurodevelopmental impairment require clear and individualized information about what to expect for their child, yet data suggest they have difficulty knowing how to ask for this information. Here, we pilot a Question Prompt List (QPL) with parents of infants at risk of neurodevelopmental impairment. To assess real-time use of the QPL, we recorded family meetings and collected data from parents and clinicians about the QPL experience. Qualitative data were analyzed using directed content analysis. Ten parents were enrolled. In family meetings, clinicians universally acknowledged the QPL and most used the QPL to guide meeting content. All parents who used the QPL found it useful and would recommend the tool to others. In interviews, parents described that the QPL offered novel questions and facilitated more prepared answers from the team. Future studies should test the impact of this QPL on parent understanding and communication quality.