%0 Journal Article
%T Development and Validation of an Online Program for Promoting Self-Management among Korean Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B
%A Jinhyang Yang
%J Nursing Research and Practice
%D 2013
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2013/702079
%X 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. 1. Introduction The hepatitis B virus is known as not only the second highest carcinogen after smoking, but also the cause of 75% of primary hepatocellular carcinoma [1]. A carrier of hepatitis B is 30¨C100 times more likely to have a risk of dying from liver disease than the average person [2]. Approximately 350 million people have hepatitis B worldwide, and, every year, about 620,000 die of liver diseases associated with hepatitis B [3, 4]. Hepatitis B is a disease that is more common in Asians than Westerners. Asian Americans have an infection rate of 5¨C15%, which is, approximately, more than 20 times higher than the hepatitis B infection rate of the entire population of the US [5]. Korea was ranked 5th in cancer incidence rate in 2010 for liver cancer, and is ranked second in cancer mortality [6]. The prevalence of hepatitis B in Korea was 4.0% of the population over the age of 30 [7]. Likewise, even today, hepatitis B remains a common disease among the average person, but there is a lack of management on disease monitoring and treatment compliance of hepatitis B virus carriers or patients [8]. Currently, a significant number of hepatitis B patients in Korea are caused by vertical infection from the mother during the perinatal
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/nrp/2013/702079/