“…Since HCV is a single-stranded RNA virus that mutates or replicates very rapidly, this disease is difficult to treat and individuals are faced with the fact that hepatitis C is a chronic, progressive disease that does not yet have a cure. A diagnosis of hepatitis C has been found to cause significant stress for newly diagnosed patients and has been reported to be more stressful than divorce, loss of source of income, or a move to another city (Gill, Atiq, Sattar & Khokhar, 2005). High levels of psychological distress and impaired quality of life have been found in patients with hepatitis C (Coughlan, Sheehan, Hickey & Crowe, 2002;Gifford, O'Brien, Bammer, Banwell, & Stoove, 2003).…”