Psychological Impact of a GH Diagnosis: Comparing Patient and HCP Perceptions

Evidence suggests that healthcare providers and patients view the impact of a genital herpes diagnosis very differently. Some patients have reported that the condition is second in severity only to an HIV diagnosis and report high levels of anxiety, anguish, shame, anger depression and decreased self-esteem, while many physicians perceive it as much less traumatic, even trivial. Few recent studies have detailed the psychological and social impact of a genital herpes diagnosis from the perspective of patients compared to healthcare providers in the U.S. ASHA has received funging to conduct a study to investigate and measure the gap between the patient and physician perceptions and to see if there is an association between treatment method selected and psychological and social impact measures.

OBJECTIVES

Through this research study, ASHA intends to:

Assess the psychosocial impact of a GH diagnosis from the patient perspective (comparing newly diagnosed and returning patients);
Ascertain whether choice of treatment (suppressive, episodic or no treatment) is correlated with psychological impact; and
Assess the psychosocial impact of a GH diagnosis from the healthcare provider perspective.

ACTIVITIES

Conduct anonymous surveys with patients and healthcare providers to assess the perceived psychological and social impact of a genital herpes diagnosis from both perspectives.
Analyze the data to detect differences between patients and healthcare providers.
Conduct analyses to determine any possible associations within the patient sample based on treatment choice.
Conduct analyses to detect whether or not psychological impact varies by type of provider.

Outcomes from this study will include:

Literature review of recent research regarding the
Quantitative data comparison (paired and aggregate) of patient and provider
Quantitative data analysis of the association between
Quantitative data analysis of the association between HCP type
Manuscript submitted to one or more peer-reviewed journals; and
Abstract submitted to one or more national or international conferences.