What are the Quality of Life Impacts of PRP?
A series of”Quality of Life” focus groups were conducted in April and July (2021) invoving 40 PRP patients as part of ongoing research at Oregon Health and Science University. The following is the Discussion Guide used in the conduct of those focus groups. The questions help to frame the issues related to “Quality of Life” as they relate to PRP.Physical Impacts
(1) Please tell us about your initial experience with PRP. What was the first sign that something was wrong?
(2) Please discuss your experience with the physical symptoms of PRP.
(a) What symptoms bothered you the most? Did that change throughout the course of the disease?
(b) What symptoms bothered you the least? [Annoying rather than serious] Did that change throughout the course of the disease?
(3) Are there any symptoms of PRP that you feel were not given adequate attention by your physician? If so, what were they?
(4) What was the FIRST SIGN that you were “getting better”? See: Healing Milestones
(5) What other symptoms that we haven’t discussed yet should be given adequate attention in a PRP quality of life questionnaire?.
Psychological Impacts
(1) If you are comfortable, please share how PRP affected your mental health.
2) Is/was your mental state particularly affected by certain symptoms or limitations imposed by PRP? If so, what are they?
(3) At what point, if any, during the course of your PRP did you feel you had hit “rock bottom?” What made you feel that way?
(4) At what point in the course of your PRP did your mental state start to improve?
(5) What kinds of coping strategies did you use to manage your mental health?
(6) Can you think of any ways that your physician could have helped you improve your mental health while you had PRP?
Daily Living Impacts
(1) Please tell us about how your daily routine is/was impacted by PRP.
(2) What daily activities are made more difficult because of PRP symptoms?
(3) Are there any activities of daily living (personal hygiene, mobility, eating, etc.) you are/were unable to perform without assistance?
(4) How did you adapt your lifestyle to fit your limitations, if any?
(5) How was your sleep affected by PRP?
Social Impacts
(1) Did PRP change your relationships with family, friends, or coworkers? If so, how?
(2) Did PRP change the way you interacted with strangers?
Financial Impacts
(1) Did the physical, psychological, social, or daily living effects of PRP affect your finances in a major way (for example, changing your ability to work or the type of work you could do)?
(2) Did the cost associated with PRP medical care have a large impact on your finances (for example, leading to medical debt or difficulty paying your regular bills)?