Exploration of Self-care in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis: A Qualitative Study

Hepatitis is a chronic disease which greatly impacts patients’ lives. Since patients with chronic hepatitis have special care needs, they experience many challenges. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore self-care in patients with chronic hepatitis.
This qualitative study was conducted through directed content analysis method among patients with chronic hepatitis in 2013 at Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran. The study participants were selected through purposive sampling and data was collected through semi-structured interviews. Content analysis was used to extract data from verbatim transcripts of the participants’ interviews.
In this study, the 4 themes of requirements in the matrix of time and place, self-care agency, the need for change in self-care, and disease outcome were extracted.
The results of this study showed that patients with hepatitis have specific vital, basic, sexual, physical, economical, and psychological-behavioral needs, and need for respect and belonging. These needs had a negative impact on self-care in patients with hepatitis.