Physical, Psychological, and Social Challenges in Patients with Hepatitis B Infection

Context: Hepatitis B is the most prevalent chronic viral infection in humans, which imposes limitations on patients and has many physical, psychological, and social consequences due to its chronic nature. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the physical, psychological, and social challenges of patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV). Evidence Acquisition: First, a set of keywords, including hepatitis B, challenge, physical, psychological, and social, were searched in databases, such as Google Scholar, PubMed, SID, Magiran, and IranMedex. Then, the articles published between 2009 and 2019 were reviewed according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria in two stages – the title and the abstract in the first stage and the whole paper in the second stage. Finally, 34 articles were selected out of 1426 articles. Results: The articles used in this study were as follows: descriptive and cross-sectional studies (10 articles), review studies (9 articles), qualitative studies (9 articles), cohort studies (3 articles), randomized controlled trials, mixed-methods studies, and field studies (one article each). Most studies had considered patients with hepatitis B with an emphasis on physical issues (10 articles), social stigma (7 articles), psychological reactions (5 articles), the discovery of patients’ experiences (3 articles), and discrimination (2 articles). In 25 studies, the samples were patients with HBV. Conclusions: It is necessary to understand and support the patients to treat them properly and help them live with minimum challenges and limitations. Therefore, it is necessary to consider educational and counseling programs to identify different aspects of this disease.