| Summary: | Introduction: Hepatitis B is the most prevalent type of viral
hepatitis. Psychological reactions among patients with hepatitis B infection is considerably
different and affects their decision about treating and following up the disease. The present
study aims at explaining the psychological demonstrations experienced by these patients.
Methods: In this qualitative study, a total of 18 patients with hepatitis B (8 women and 10
men) were selected by purposive sampling method. Data were collected by unstructured in-depth
interviews during 2014-2015 in the medical centers of three cities in Iran. All interviews
were recorded, typed and analyzed by the conventional content analysis approach. Results: By
analyzing the data, the main theme including psychological instability, with three sub-themes
were emerged: grief reaction (stupor, denial, anger and aggression), emotional challenges
(worry and apprehension, contradiction with beliefs, fear of deprivation, fear of stigma,
waiting for death and prognosis ambiguity) and inferiority complex (social withdrawal, sense
of humiliation and embarrassment and sense of guilt and blame) were acquired. Conclusion: The
findings indicate that patients with hepatitis B experience various psychological reactions
that need to be controlled and managed by themselves or healthcare providers. Thus,
implementation of health interventions with emphasis on psychological care to prevent problems
and execution of educational and consultation programs about hepatitis especially by medical
centers and mass media is seems necessary.
|
|---|
