Rare Diseases

Introduction: The diagnosis of a rare congenital malformation with necessary surgical treatment is an emotionally stressful event in a parent's life and may impact parental health-related quality of life (HrQoL). We aimed to review the literature on HrQoL in parents and caregivers of pediatric surgical patients with rare congenital malformations and summarize the results.

The aim of this study was to understand the experiences of family caregivers in the process of diagnosing hereditary angioedema. An interpretive and qualitative research methodology based on Gadamer's philosophical hermeneutics was carried out. Data collection took place between May 2015 and August 2016 and included a focus group and in-depth interviews with 16 family caregivers.

The purpose of this series is to highlight a range of rare health conditions. Rare health conditions are those that affect no more and usually less than 1 person in every 2000 and many HCAs and nurses will encounter some of these conditions, given the high number of them. This 27th article will explore one of these conditions—Mayer-Rokitansky-KüsterHauser syndrome—and the role and support needs of the ‘informal’ family caregiver.