The haemophilic patient's self-perception of changes in health and life-style arising from self-treatment.

Twenty three adults and twenty children with haemophilia, all on self-treatment, participated in the present study. They were interviewed as to how they perceive the effects of self-treatment upon various aspects of their life. It was found that the ability to treat themselves was perceived by patients as a great improvement over their previous treatment regimes for which they had had to go to hospital. Twelve of the adult patients had participated in our previous studies concerned with the social an psychological aspects of haemophilia. The analysis of the responses of these twelve patients showed that self-treatment is perceived so positively that some of the patients' earlier perceptions were distorted to correspond with their present and more optimistic perceptions of their condition. However, the number and type of psychosomatic symptoms was found to be unchanged by self-treatment and the unemployment rate has not decreased.