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  • Beyond the diagnosis: a qualitative exploration of the experiences of persons with hepatitis B in the Accra Metropolis, Ghana

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Gastroenterology and hepatology
Research
Beyond the diagnosis: a qualitative exploration of the experiences of persons with hepatitis B in the Accra Metropolis, Ghana
  1. Charles Ampong Adjei1,
  2. Florence Naab2,
  3. Ernestina S Donkor3
  1. 1 Department of Nursing, Valley View University, Accra, Ghana
  2. 2 Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Nursing, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
  3. 3 Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Nursing, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
  1. Correspondence to Charles Ampong Adjei; cadjei{at}vvu.edu.gh

Abstract

Objective This study explored the experiences of people with hepatitis B in the Accra metropolis.

Design The study employed qualitative exploratory descriptive design with purposive sampling technique. Data were collected through face-to-face interview and transcribed verbatim. The data were analysed using content analysis.

Settings Participants were recruited from one government and one mission hospital in Ghana.

Participants Fourteen individuals aged between 26 and 45 years with hepatitis B infection were interviewed.

Results The findings of the study showed that people with hepatitis B in the Accra metropolis were unclear about the impact of their infection. Furthermore, they experienced psychological and social problems especially when they were initially informed about their hepatitis B status. Sadness, fear, shock, shame and disbelief were some of the experiences reported by participants. Coping strategies adopted include religiosity, denial and lifestyle modification.

Conclusions It is, therefore, necessary as a country to integrate hepatitis B counselling into the already existing HIV structures in the health delivery system to offer support for individuals diagnosed with hepatitis B. Furthermore, it is important to draw lessons from the process used in the diagnosis of HIV, particularly in ensuring that people provide consent for being tested.

  • hepatology
  • gastroenterology
  • epidemiology

This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-017665

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors CAA conceptualised the study. CAA, FN and ESD designed the study and the interview guide. Data were collected by CAA. Data analysis was done by FN, ESD and CAA. Manuscript was critically reviewed by FN and ESD. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Patient consent Obtained.

    • Ethics approval Ethical clearance was obtained from Institutional Review Board of Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (Approval number NMIMR-IRB CPN 026/ 15-16). Permission was sought from the management of the data collection sites, and informed consent (written) was obtained from the participants.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

    • Data sharing statement Participants have consented for anonymised transcripts to be shared upon request.