The role of illness perceptions: psychological distress and treatment seeking delay in patients with genital warts.

Juliet A. Ireland, Murray Reid, Rachael Powell, Keith J. Petrie

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This study examined the relationships between illness perceptions, psychological distress and treatment-seeking delay in genital warts patients. Sixty-six genital warts patients were approached while attending a sexual health clinic. They completed a questionnaire assessing their illness perceptions, psychological distress and treatment-seeking delay. Negative perceptions of illness consequences and control and a perceived cyclical timeline were associated with increased psychological distress. Perceived illness consequences maintained significance in a multiple regression equation, which accounted for 25% variance in distress. Depression was associated with treatment-seeking delay (r = 0.28, P = 0.03). In conclusion, illness perceptions may play an important role in the experience of psychological distress in genital warts patients. The implications of these findings for the design of health-care interventions are discussed.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)667-670
Number of pages4
JournalInternational Journal of Std and Aids
Volume16
Issue number10
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Oct 2005

Keywords

  • illness perception
  • distress
  • treatment-seeking delay
  • genital warts
  • HPV

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