TY - JOUR
T1 - Cognitive and emotional illness representation of people with chronic hepatitis B in Ghana
T2 - A qualitative inquiry
AU - Ahenkorah, Alfred Yanful
AU - Dzansi, Gladys
AU - Adjei, Charles Ampong
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2022.
PY - 2022/9
Y1 - 2022/9
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
KW - Chronic hepatitis B
KW - Ghana
KW - cognitive
KW - emotional
KW - illness representation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85134599985&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/09564624221107791
DO - 10.1177/09564624221107791
M3 - Article
C2 - 35852955
AN - SCOPUS:85134599985
SN - 0956-4624
VL - 33
SP - 890
EP - 895
JO - International Journal of STD and AIDS
JF - International Journal of STD and AIDS
IS - 10
ER -