Development and Validation of an Online Program for Promoting Self-Management among Korean Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B

Abstract

The hepatitis B virus is second only to tobacco as a known human carcinogen. However, chronic hepatitis B usually does not produce symptoms and people feel healthy even in the early stages of live cancer. Therefore, chronically infected people should perceive it as a serious health problem and move on to appropriate health behaviour. The purpose of this paper is to develop and validate an online program for promoting self-management among Korean patients with chronic hepatitis B. The online program was developed using a prototyping approach and system developing life cycle method, evaluated by users for their satisfaction with the website and experts for the quality of the site. To evaluate the application of the online program, knowledge and self-management compliance of the subjects were measured and compared before and after the application of the online program. There were statistically significant increases in knowledge and self-management compliance in the user group. An online program with high accessibility and applicability including information, motivation, and behavior skill factors can promote self-management of the patient with chronic hepatitis B. Findings from this study allow Korean patients with chronic hepatitis B to engage in proactive and effective health management in the community or clinical practice.

Environmental factors affecting self‐management of chronic hepatitis B from the patients’ perspective

“…Some studies have indicated that patients refused screenings and follow-up because of the fear of unfavourable results and social stigma (Ezbarami et al, 2017;Yang, 2013), but the current study did not produce similar results. Instead, results emphasised that work- Furthermore, if patients perceive that the health care provided is not helpful to them, they are more likely to neglect opportunities to link with the self-management programme of hepatitis B.…”

“…This result was similar to that of previous studies, indicating that patients received conventional treatment on the basis of family members’ personal healthcare experiences (Fang & Stewart, ; Giles‐Vernick et al, ). Some studies have indicated that patients refused screenings and follow‐up because of the fear of unfavourable results and social stigma (Ezbarami et al, ; Yang, ), but the current study did not produce similar results. Instead, results emphasised that work‐related leave‐taking regulations prevented patients from receiving screenings and follow‐up until they presented symptoms.…”

“…The influence of environmental factors, such as support and illness experiences from social relationships, on chronic disease self-management is as critical as that of personal factors, such as disease severity (Bhandari & Kim, 2016;Chen, Liu, Shyu, & Yeh, 2016). Findings of note are that patients with chronic hepatitis B spend most of their time on self-care at home, and therefore, disease self-management plans should be patient-centred (Cedeño-Moreno, Vargas-Lombardo, Salas-Zárate, Paredes-Valverde, & Valencia-García, 2017; Robotin & George, 2014;Yang, 2013).…”

“…Patients may refuse screenings and follow‐ups because they fear unfavourable results and negative judgement from other people (Ezbarami, Hassani, Tafreshi, & Majd, ; Yang, ). In the disease self‐management process, individual awareness, managerial skills and executive abilities are required to solve the physiological, psychological and social problems caused by chronic hepatitis B (Kong et al, ; Yang, ). However, no previous studies have focused on environmental factors of family, society and culture regarding self‐management behaviours of patients with chronic hepatitis B.…”

“…Symptoms of chronic hepatitis B are not obvious. Patients with chronic hepatitis B tend to think they are healthy and may neglect screenings and follow-ups (Kong, Zhu, He, Wang, & Guo, 2018;Yang, 2013). Chronic hepatitis B may develop into severe liver disease.…”