Cognitive and emotional illness representation of people with chronic hepatitis B in Ghana: A qualitative inquiry

Abstract

Hepatitis B remains a public health concern in Ghana, with an estimated prevalence of 8.4% in adults and 14.3% in adolescents. This study explored the cognitive and emotional illness representations of persons with chronic hepatitis B who sought care at a tertiary hospital’s liver clinic in Ghana. A qualitative exploratory descriptive design was adopted, and 15 participants were purposefully chosen for in-person interviews. The data was analyzed using the content analysis procedure. The findings revealed that participants’ cognitive representations of hepatitis B infection varied. Some believed they got the infection through unsafe sexual practices, while others thought it was from their mother or spiritual sources. Participants’ predominant emotional representations included shock, confusion, and fear. Education about the causes and management of hepatitis B should be addressed as part of patient care.

Health-Seeking Behavior of Persons with Chronic Hepatitis B in Peri-Urban Ghana: Application of the Health Belief Model

“…PWHB, having understood the nature of Hepatitis B, reported that, the fear and anxiety they were experiencing after diagnosis of chronic hepatitis B were alleviated because of the knowledge about chronic hepatitis B which participants received. This finding of the study is not surprising given that similar reports suggest adequate knowledge of hepatitis B clears misconceptions that could cause fear and anxiety (Ahenkorah, 2022; Le Gautier et al, 2021). Other studies have also revealed the influence of knowledge about chronic hepatitis B on disease management (Dayyab et al, 2020; Dehghani et al, 2020).…”