Self-management behaviors in adults with chronic hepatitis B: A structural equation model

Background: Chronic hepatitis B is a serious and chronic health problem, requiring self-management to control the disease and related complications.

Objectives: To develop a structural model to identify how social support, self-efficacy and disease knowledge contribute to their self-management behaviors in adults with chronic hepatitis B.

Design: A cross-sectional study.

Settings: Hepatology units in two hospitals in Chongqing, China.

Participants: A total of 306 patients with chronic hepatitis B were recruited.

Methods: Data were collected using Social Support Rating Scale, Self-Efficacy for Managing Chronic Disease, Hepatitis B Knowledge Questionnaire and Chronic Hepatitis B Self-Management Scale. Structural equation model was applied to analyze the data.

Results: The final model showed good model fit. Social support directly influenced self-management behaviors (β = 0.19, p < 0.01), and indirectly influenced self-management behaviors (β = 0.20, p < 0.01) through self-efficacy. Self-efficacy directly influenced self-management behaviors (β = 0.37, p < 0.05). Disease knowledge indirectly influenced self-management behaviors (β = 0.12, p < 0.05) through self-efficacy.

Conclusions: Our findings indicated that social support, self-efficacy and disease knowledge directly or indirectly affected self-management behaviors in adults with chronic hepatitis B. This provides a theoretical basis for developing self-management interventions for patients with chronic hepatitis B, which may lead to health improvements in this population.