Managing chronic hepatitis B: A qualitative study exploring the perspectives of people living with chronic hepatitis B in Australia

Abstract

BackgroundThe implementation of a comprehensive public health response to hepatitis B in Australia is urgently required to reduce the increasing burden of hepatitis B infection on the health system and the community. A significant gap in the public health response to hepatitis B is an understanding of how people with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) respond to CHB.FindingsA qualitative study involving semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions was conducted. Interviews were held with 20 people with CHB from three states of Australia. In addition, four focus group discussions were held with a total of 40 community and health workers from culturally and linguistically diverse communities in four Australian states.People with CHB reported no formal or informal pre or post test discussion with little information about hepatitis B provided at the point of diagnosis. Knowledge deficits about hepatitis B were found among most participants. Few resources are available for people with CHB or their families to assist them in understanding the infection and promoting their health and well-being. A lack of confidence in the professional knowledge of service providers was noted throughout interviews.ConclusionsPeople with CHB need culturally and linguistically appropriate education and information, particularly at the point of diagnosis. Primary health care professionals need the knowledge, skills and motivation to provide appropriate information to people with CHB, to ensure they have the capacity to better manage their infection.

Hepatitis B knowledge and associated factors among people with chronic hepatitis B

“…While previous studies have reported knowledge gaps among Australian people with CHB, [10][11][12] this current study is the largest Australian study quantifying hepatitis B knowledge and identifying some of the factors associated with hepatitis B knowledge in this population. Consistent with research from North America 15,16 and Asian countries, 17,18 the current study found that people with CHB had inadequate knowledge of hepatitis B.…”

“…8,9 Data describing how people with CHB in Australia understand their infection is limited. While two studies report knowledge gaps among people with CHB, 10,11 only one singlecentre study quantitatively evaluated health literacy in this population. 12 This current study sought to assess the hepatitis B knowledge and associated factors among a group of Australian people with CHB from different healthcare centres.…”

Case-finding for hepatitis C in primary care: a mixed-methods service evaluation

“…An interview topic guide (informed by the literature) was developed to explore views of the current practice of testing, barriers to testing, interactions with other services, and training and guidelines for HCV testing. [24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34] With written informed consent, interviews were audio-recorded and anonymised transcripts (transcribed by the interviewer) were imported into NVivo (version 9) to aid data analysis. Thematic analyses identified issues of particular salience for participants and across the dataset.…”

Hepatitis B-Related Concerns and Anxieties Among People With Chronic Hepatitis B in Australia

“…Other hepatitis B-related fears and concerns have also been reported among people with CHB in several other studies (3, 5, 10, 13, 17-19, 21-23) with these psychological stressors possible predisposing factors to developing psychiatric disorders, particularly depressive disorders. In one study among people with CHB, having hepatitis B-related concerns were associated with the presence of major depression (3).…”

“…Only one qualitative study interviewing 20 people with CHB reported a significant fear of the future or of dying among several participants (13). …”