J Korean Acad Nurs.  2009 Dec;39(6):805-817. 10.4040/jkan.2009.39.6.805.

Qualitative Research Investigating Patterns of Health Care Behavior among Korean Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B

• Yang JH
• Cho MO
• Lee HO

• KMID: 1718155
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4040/jkan.2009.39.6.805

Abstract

PURPOSE
This ethnograpy was done to explore patterns of health care behavior in patients with chronic health problems. METHODS: 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. RESULTS: 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. CONCLUSION: 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.

Keyword

Ethnography; Health care behavior; Chronic hepatitis B

MeSH Terms

Activities of Daily Living
Adult
Aged
Asian Continental Ancestry Group
Attitude to Health
Communication
Family Relations
Female
*Health Behavior
Hepatitis B, Chronic/complications/*psychology
Humans
Interviews as Topic
Liver Cirrhosis/etiology
Liver Neoplasms/etiology
Male
Middle Aged
Physician-Patient Relations
*Qualitative Research
Republic of Korea

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