Assessment of Patient and Caregiver Attitudes and Approaches to Decision-Making Regarding Bone Marrow Transplant for Sickle Cell Disease: A Qualitative Study

Importance Bone marrow transplant (BMT) is a potentially curative treatment for sickle cell disease (SCD). Patient and caregiver attitudes toward BMT for SCD and the willingness to accept risks of BMT vary, but these attitudes are not well understood. Objective To understand patient and caregiver perceptions of and attitudes toward BMT for SCD and decision-making about BMT. Design, Setting, and Participants Qualitative study of interview transcripts from a convenience sample. Transcripts were from adults with SCD and caregivers of patients with SCD recruited from national and regional SCD conferences, symposia, and sickle cell clinics in 2 cities. Interview transcripts were used from the needs assessment phase to develop a patient-decision aid in 2013 to 2014 (group 1) and from the baseline point in 2015 to 2016 (group 2) of the parent trial, a randomized clinical trial of adults and caregivers of patients with SCD to evaluate the effectiveness of a patient decision aid. Main Outcomes and Measures Participant perspectives on decision-making regarding BMT for SCD. Results Fifty-seven transcripts from adults with SCD and 50 transcripts from caregivers of patients with SCD were included. Median (interquartile range [IQR]) age of adults with SCD was 34 (21-50) years in group 1 and 30 (23-38) years in group 2. The median (IQR) age of caregivers was 42.5 (31-52) years in group 1 and 41 (35-46.5) years in group 2. Most transcripts from adults with SCD (75.0% in group 1 and 72.4% in group 2) and caregivers of patients with SCD (76.7% in group 1 and 85.0% in group 2) were from female participants. Bone marrow transplant was perceived as a treatment option associated with serious risks. Reported attitudes toward BMT occurred on a continuum ranging from unfavorable to favorable. Participants reported serious decisional dilemma regarding BMT for SCD. Most participants expressed interest in learning about BMT or curative treatments. Conclusions and Relevance This qualitative study found a continuum in attitudes toward BMT for SCD and highlights the complexity of decision-making in BMT for SCD. Patients and families with SCD expressed an interest in learning about BMT. Future prospective studies of patient decision-making regarding BMT, especially in the context of emerging curative and novel disease-modifying therapies for SCD, are warranted.