Patients' psychosocial concerns following stem cell transplantation

Information regarding the nature, frequency, correlates and temporal trajec tory of concerns of stem cell transplantation (SCT) recipients is critical to the development of interventions to enhance quality of life (QOL) in the se individuals. This study examined psychosocial concerns in 110 SCT (87% a utologous) recipients drawn from two SCT centers. Participants were a mean of 46 years of age and 17 months post-SCT (range 3-62 months). Information regarding current and past SCT-related concerns, performance status, and de mographic characteristics was collected by telephone interview or questionn aire, Recipients reported a wide variety of psychosocial concerns following SCT, Recipients who were younger, female and evidenced a poorer performanc e status reported a larger number of post-SCT concerns. Examination of the temporal trajectory of concerns suggests that some concerns are salient thr oughout the course of post-SCT recovery (eg disease recurrence, energy leve l,'returning to normal'), some are salient early in the course of recovery (eg quality of medical care, overprotectiveness by others), and others emer ge later in the course of recovery (leg feeling tense or anxious, sexual li fe, sleep, relationship with spouse/partner, ability to be affectionate). I mplications for the development of interventions to enhance post-SCT QOL ar e identified.