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Results for “illness perception”

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PubMed1978

Sex differences in perception of illness and expressed life satisfaction.

A preliminary survey of 10 married couples was carried out to test the hypothesis that women express greater dissatisfaction with their health and other personal life domains than men. Although the women made more use of medical facilities for minor complaints than their husbands, no difference was found in expressed satisfaction, or in number or severity of symptoms reported at interview. However, there was a discrepancy between husbands' and wives' perception of their spouses' satisfaction levels and experience of illness-symptoms, in the direction of wives being perceived by their husbands as considerably less healthy and more dissatisfied than the husbands were rated by their wives. Some evidence was also found for greater emotionality in women. The results are regarded as indicating that illness is more socially acceptable in women than in men.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Perception of illness among patients with alcoholic liver disease.

A sample of patients (N = 134) with alcoholic liver disease was found to be significantly "health internal" (i.e., believe that their behavior plays a major role in determining subsequent health or illness) compared with a sample of patients with nonalcoholic liver disease on Health Locus of Control Scale. The patients with alcoholic liver disease did not differ significantly from those with nonalcoholic liver disease in the level of awareness of severity of their disease. Most patients in both groups agreed with their physician's ratings of the severity of their illness. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Stressors and social support perceptions predict illness attitudes and care-seeking intentions: re-examining the sick role.

Parsons' (1951) sick role concept has had a profound impact on the study of sickness as a social phenomenon. The sick role might be better conceived as a set of illness attitudes and care-seeking intentions rather than a set of social norms. This investigation purports (a) to explore the relationships among illness attitudes, (b) to examine the ability of illness attitudes to predict medical care-seeking intentions, and (c) to investigate differences in the sick role as a function of stressors and social support perceptions. Participants (N = 148) completed a survey questionnaire assessing daily hassles, life events, perceived social support, dependence, self-criticism, and the sick role. Results of a factor analysis on the sick role measures revealed four attitudinal (Release, Consideration, Burden, and Deviance) and two behavioral (Denial and Consult) factors. The attitudinal factors were moderately intercorrelated, with some ability to predict care-seeking intentions. Regression analyses revealed that stressors and support perceptions did exhibit some ability to predict the sick role. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for health communication research.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Perceptions of psychosis, coping, appraisals, and psychological distress in the relatives of patients with schizophrenia: an exploration using self-regulation theory.

OBJECTIVE: Following Leventhal's self-regulation model, the purpose of the present study was to provide an examination of the relationship between psychosis perceptions, coping strategies, appraisals, and distress in the relatives of patients with schizophrenia. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. METHOD: Participants were 42 relatives of patients with schizophrenia who completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), a brief coping strategies measure (COPE), the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQR), and a measure of primary and secondary appraisals (Family Questionnaire). RESULTS: In general, carers who viewed their relative's psychosis as chronic, who had a stronger illness identity (experience of symptoms), who held a stronger belief in the severity of its consequences, and who reported weaker beliefs in treatment control but stronger beliefs that their relative could exert control over their condition had higher distress scores. Coping through seeking emotional support, the use of religion/spirituality, active coping, acceptance, and positive reframing were associated with less distress, while coping through self-blame was associated with higher distress scores. Hierarchical regression demonstrated that illness perceptions and coping (acceptance, positive reframing, and self-blame), respectively, made significant additional contributions to the variance in distress when entered after demographics, and primary and secondary appraisals. Furthermore, a mediational analysis suggested that coping strategies characterized by greater positive reframing, less self-blame, and greater acceptance mediated the relationship between distress, and both illness identity and carer's beliefs about how much personal control the patient could exercise over their condition. There was no mediational effect of coping on the relationship between distress and carers' perceptions about symptom control through medical treatment. CONCLUSION: Results provide partial but not unequivocal support for the self-regulation model in the current sample. Findings may invite us to consider the further use of the self-regulation/common sense model as a framework for understanding distress in the carers of people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Patient psychological characteristics have minimal influence on surgical prioritization.

OBJECTIVE: Rationing of health care is universal in systems free at the point of delivery. United Kingdom National Health Service (NHS) policy is for treatment on the basis of "clinical need." Surgeons routinely prioritize elective cases, and structured assessments of symptom severity have been suggested as a rational method of prioritization. We hypothesized that patient psychological factors would play an important role in prioritization as currently practiced. METHODS: Two hundred thirty participants were recruited from a potential pool of 259 eligible referrals to an orthopaedic department for assessment of lower limb arthroplasty. Participants were assessed at time of referral and followed for 2.5 years. Associations were estimated between participant's psychological distress, illness perceptions, and the outcome of surgical prioritization. RESULTS: One hundred forty-one participants were listed for arthroplasty; 62 (44%) of these were considered urgent cases. Pain was the only univariate predictor of this outcome. Patient's psychological distress and illness perceptions were not associated with being classified as urgent even after adjusting for clinical and demographic status. In a multivariate model, only older age showed an independent effect (OR 2.75, 95% CI 1.14, 6.66) of increasing the chances of being considered urgent. Urgent cases had a 3-month-shorter inpatient wait among the 108 participants operated on during the study. CONCLUSIONS: The psychological status of arthroplasty candidates had no significant effect on the surgical prioritization process. Allocation to the urgent list appears to be based primarily on the patient's age, but is partially influenced by patient's better physical health and viewing treatment as being effective.

Arthroplasty, Replacement↗
PubMed1998

An ethnic comparison of eating attitudes and associated psychological problems in young British women.

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to investigate possible differences in eating attitudes/problems and associated psychological problems in young women of differing ethnic origin. METHOD: In a city with a relatively high Asian population (with a background in the Indian subcontinent), 235 young women aged 18-27 registered with a general practice responded to a postal questionnaire. The questionnaire examined eating and weight problems (including the 26-item Eating Attitudes Test), self-esteem (measured by the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale), and general psychological well-being (measured by The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale). We also included three short vignettes designed to assess illness perception and health seeking-behavior. RESULTS: We found relatively little difference in eating attitudes and problems according to ethnicity, although self-induced vomiting for weight control was more common among Caucasian women. Neither was there any difference in self-esteem, anxiety, depression, and illness perception. DISCUSSION: The results suggest that one cannot generalize about eating problems across the Asian population and a more sophisticated approach to the examination of sociocultural factors is recommended.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

[The impact of macro- and microcosm on the perception of illness and patient].

The orgins of the idea of macro- and microcosm date back to the Ancient Greek thought. And however often that idea recurred in historically different epochs always carrying the sign of time it invariably assumed there was a correspondence between the universe (macrocosm) and man (microcosm). This type of correlation of both worlds was viewed as a reflection of cosmic harmony and common material (6/5th century BC) or the unity of what is created with the emphasis put on the uniqueness of man (Middle Ages). The philosophical consequence of such approach was the belief that the knowledge of one reality allows one to explain another. Most often such reasoning led from understanding the macrocosm (allowing for stars) to reflections on man. Advocates of such an approach to the perception of man and nature were two great scientific doctors Hippocrates (5th century BC) and Paracelsus (16th century). They both claimed that man retained communication with the whole universe. Paracelsus perceived the world and man in a unity that permitted to recognize an equivalent of anatomy in astronomy. This exceptional link between both cosms was a guarantee for health. Illness occurred as a result of the disturbance of harmony between both worlds. In this context, the task of medical science was to consist in such understanding of the forces present in macro- and microcosm that could restore the line between the nature and man inflicted with illness.

Disease↗
PubMed2006

Gender, ethnocultural, and psychosocial barriers to diabetes self-management in Italian women and men with type 2 diabetes.

Although several ethnic groups experience a greater burden of diabetes, this has not been examined in first-generation Italians, who compose one of the largest ethnocultural groups in Canada. In this cross-sectional study, the authors examined the relationship among gender and ethnocultural factors, family support, depressive symptomatology, and illness perceptions on diabetes self-management (DSM) in 50 Italian women and men with type 2 diabetes. The authors first conducted a focus group to explore cultural barriers. They then assessed gender, ethnocultural, and psychosocial barriers quantitatively by an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Compared with Italian men, Italian women reported significantly greater depressive symptomatology and perceived disease seriousness. Greater depressive symptomatology was significantly associated with perceived family sabotage and DSM barriers. In univariate analyses, shorter duration of diabetes and greater perceived treatment effectiveness significantly predicted better DSM. In conclusion, certain illness perceptions and culturally relevant gender-specific barriers should be addressed by health care providers to maximize DSM in this population. Index Terms: diabetes, diet, gender, self-management

Aged↗
PubMed2003

Do asthma patients in general practice profit from a structured allergy evaluation and skin testing? A pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Although allergy is central to the pathophysiology of asthma, little is known about the benefits of a structured approach to allergen diagnosis and management in primary care asthma patients. OBJECTIVES: We studied effects of a structured allergen evaluation and allergen avoidance advice combined with or without additional allergy skin testing on health status, illness perception, and lung function of asthma patients treated in general practice. METHOD: Fifty-four asthma patients were randomly assigned to three groups: (i) Standard asthma care with information on the stepwise treatment approach, a written action plan, and inhaler technique training; (ii) Additional structured allergen evaluation and avoidance advice; (iii) Additional structured allergen evaluation and avoidance advice based on skin prick test results. Patients were seen for one initial appointment at a primary care asthma clinic and a follow-up examination 3 months later. On both occasions, questionnaire measures of symptoms, illness perception, and the perceived control of asthma were administered. Lung function was measured by spirometry (PEF, FEV1). Perceived allergic asthma triggers, the trigger impact, and the trigger control were assessed in both intervention groups. RESULTS: Following intervention, a decrease in beta-adrenergic inhaler use, an increase in the perceived control of asthma, and a decrease in the bothering from asthma symptoms were observed for all three groups. Intervention groups showed a higher awareness of animal-allergic triggers, and the perceived control of asthma triggers was increased in the group receiving no skin tests. FEV1 showed an improvement in both intervention groups. CONCLUSION: Structured allergy evaluation and avoidance advice can improve lung function and the control of asthma in primary care. Further research is needed on the additional benefits of allergy skin testing.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Influence of southern spiritual beliefs on perceptions of mental illness.

Cultural religious beliefs influence perceptions of mental illness, and any clinician interested in treating mentally ill people and their families must consider these beliefs so that he or she can develop culturally specific interventions. This article reports on the results of interviews with African American experts, mentally ill persons, and nurses caring for the mentally ill. A case study is used to illustrate the influence of southern religious beliefs on perceptions of mental illness and the behaviors of people who are mentally ill. Although many issues are considered in this analysis (i.e., ethnicity, geographic location, and religion), it is the influence of three religious traditions in the South--voodoo, slave religion, and evangelical Protestantism--that takes precedence in the analysis. Mental health professionals, especially psychiatric nurses, will find this information helpful when assisting hospitalized patients.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Perceptions of illness causation among new referrals to a community mental health team: "explanatory model" or "exploratory map"?

The health beliefs of people suffering from mental health problems are important. Such beliefs have been identified as key factors in models of health and illness behaviour, and may therefore indirectly influence clinical outcome. In addition, the increasing move towards patient-centred health care suggests that such beliefs need to be identified if a patient's perspective of his or her illness is to be addressed in the care process. Past research on health beliefs surrounding depression have concentrated on identifying "explanatory models" among the general community or among people who already have an established diagnosis of depression. This paper describes the content and status of health beliefs among people who are in the process of receiving a diagnosis. In-depth interviews were carried out with new referrals to a community mental health team (CMHT). Individuals expressed a variety of perceived causes throughout the interview. Beliefs were therefore characterised as changeable. It is argued that the concept of an "explanatory model" is too fixed to fully convey the fluid status of beliefs among this patient group. The concept of an "exploratory map" is suggested as a replacement. Such maps outline the avenues of thought which individuals explored when attempting to understand why they were currently experiencing particular psychological problems. The strength and persistence of beliefs is discussed in relation to both theoretical and clinical implications.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed1993

Children's perceptions of ill peers as a function of illness conceptualization and attributions of responsibility: AIDS as a paradigm.

Assessed the impact of developmental level of illness conceptualization and degree of assigned responsibility on children's reactions to ill peers. Accounts of hypothetical peers were manipulated in a multivariate design with three levels of Disease Label (AIDS vs. cystic fibrosis vs. no label) and two levels of Responsibility Information (low responsibility vs. no responsibility information), with the children's conceptualizations as a continuous variable. Subjects receiving information that the peer was not responsible for the illness tended to endorse higher ratings of acceptance than those receiving no information about illness responsibility. Accounts of peers with AIDS resulted in lower ratings of acceptance than those presented with accounts of peers with cystic fibrosis or an unlabeled illness. Subjects obtaining higher illness conceptualization scores tended to perceive less vulnerability to casual contagion.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗