Women and Children, University of Ghana Medical Centre, Accra, Ghana.
Department of Maternal and Child Health, University of Ghana School of Nursing, Accra, Ghana.
BMJ Open. 2022 Oct 25;12(10):e062557. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-062557.
To explore the psychosocial concerns and ways of coping of pregnant women with chronic hepatitis B infection in Ghana.
Participants were selected from public health facilities in the Tema Metropolis.
Exploratory descriptive qualitative design was employed.
Fourteen pregnant women were purposively selected to participate in face-to-face interviews. The data were analysed using the content analysis procedure.
The participants' psychosocial concerns and coping strategies were diverse. A significant number of the participants were concerned about the impact their hepatitis B seropositivity would have on their relationships, finances, and general well-being. Specifically, they feared that their social network, especially their spouses, would perceive them as having led a promiscuous lifestyle in the past to acquire hepatitis B infection. Also, fear of transmitting the infection to their infants and the effects of the infection on their infants later in life were identified as major concerns by nearly all participants. The participants further reported feelings of distress and diminished self-esteem. These psychosocial afflictions reported were attributed to lack of pre-test counselling during the antenatal care period. However, the participants coped using different strategies, including avoidance/denial, spirituality, and alternative treatment use.
To achieve optimal psychological and social well-being of pregnant women with chronic hepatitis B, it is important that their unique challenges are considered in their care and treatment cascade. Explicitly, protocols for supportive care addressing the specific needs of pregnant women with chronic hepatitis B should be implemented in the study setting.
探索加纳慢性乙型肝炎感染孕妇的心理社会问题和应对方式。
参与者从特马大都市的公共卫生机构中选取。
采用探索性描述性定性设计。
14 名孕妇被有目的地挑选出来进行面对面访谈。使用内容分析程序对数据进行分析。
参与者的心理社会问题和应对策略多种多样。相当一部分参与者担心他们的乙型肝炎血清阳性会对他们的人际关系、财务状况和整体幸福感产生影响。具体来说，他们担心他们的社交网络，特别是他们的配偶，会认为他们过去有过滥交的生活方式导致乙型肝炎感染。此外，几乎所有参与者都认为，担心将感染传染给婴儿以及感染对婴儿以后生活的影响是主要关注点。参与者还报告了痛苦和自尊心下降的感觉。这些心理社会困扰归因于在产前保健期间缺乏检测前咨询。然而，参与者通过不同的策略进行应对，包括回避/否认、精神寄托和替代疗法的使用。
为了实现慢性乙型肝炎感染孕妇的最佳心理和社会福祉，在她们的护理和治疗过程中考虑到她们独特的挑战非常重要。具体来说，应该在研究环境中实施支持性护理协议，以满足慢性乙型肝炎感染孕妇的特定需求。
