The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of people with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in Korea. The specific aim was to identify major problems that people with CHB face and strategies that they are dealing with.

A grounded theory method was utilized. The data were collected by individual in-depth interviews from 12 CHB patients from one of the major hospitals in Korea.

After constant comparative analysis, a core category emerged as “illness management with self-reliance and will.” Seven major strategies that were identified in dealing with the illness were maintaining receptive and positive attitudes; restraining excessive work and greed; searching for information; controlling illness information; adhering to practices for not spreading the viral disease; abstaining from alcohol and smoking and maintaining healthy eating habits; nd using alternative therapies. The outcomes that result from employing these strategies were identified as burden, depression and helplessness, stress for maintaining compliance, and dispirited interpersonal relationships.

The results of this study suggest that most people with CHB in Korea have problems in psychosocial area. Thus health professionals need to provide not only informational support but also emotional one to improve quality of life of the people with CHB.

The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of the program to promote self management for patients with chronic hepatitis B.

The research was a quasi-experimental design using a non-equivalent control group pre-post test. The participants were 61 patients, 29 in the experimental group and 32 in the control group. A pretest and 2 posttests were conducted to measure main variables. For the experimental group, the self-management program, consisting of counseling-centered activities in small groups, was given for 6 weeks. Data were analyzed using χ², t-test, and repeated measures ANOVA with PASW statistics program.

There were statistically significant increases in knowledge, self-efficacy, active ways of coping, and self-management compliance but not in passive ways of coping in the experimental group compared to the control group over two different times.

The results of this study indicate that the self-management program is effective in increasing knowledge, self-efficacy, active ways of coping, and self-management compliance among patients with chronic hepatitis B. Therefore, it can be usefully utilized in the field of nursing for patients with chronic disease as a nursing intervention for people with chronic hepatitis B.

This ethnography was done to explore the meaning of illness in Korean Americans with chronic hepatitis B.

The participants were 6 patients with chronic hepatitis B and 6 general informants who could provide relevant data. Data were collected from iterative fieldwork with ethnographic interviews within Korean communities in two cities in the United States. Data were analyzed using causal chain analysis developed by Wolcott.

The analyses revealed three meanings for the illness: hidden disease, intentionally hidden disease, and inevitably hidden disease. The contexts of meaning of illness included characteristics of the illness, social stigma, structure of health care system and communication patterns and discourse between health care providers and clients.

The meaning of illness was based on folk illness concepts and constructed in the sociocultural context. Folk etiology, pathology and interpretation of one's symptoms were factors influencing illness behavior. These findings could be a cornerstone for culture specific care for Korean Americans with chronic hepatitis B.

This ethnograpy was done to explore patterns of health care behavior in patients with chronic health problems.

The participants were 15 patients with chronic hepatitis B and 2 family members. Among the patients 4 had progressed to liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. Data were collected from iterative fieldwork in a department of internal medicine of I hospital. Data were analyzed using text analysis and taxonomic methods.

Illness and disease, relationship between health care givers and clients, and communication patterns between health professions and clients were discussed as the context of health care behavior. Health care behavior of the participants was categorized by its focus: every day work centered, body centered, organ centered, and pathology centered.

Participants' health care behavior was guided by folk health concept and constructed in the sociocultural context. Folk etiology, pathology, and interpretation of one's symptoms were influencing factors in illness behavior. These findings must be a cornerstone of culture specific care for the chronic diseases.