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

Alfred Yanful Ahenkorah, Gladys Dzansi, Charles Ampong Adjei

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

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.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)890-895
Number of pages6
JournalInternational Journal of STD and AIDS
Volume33
Issue number10
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sep 2022

Keywords

  • Chronic hepatitis B
  • Ghana
  • cognitive
  • emotional
  • illness representation

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