Chapter 11 Flashcards
Chronic diseases
Long-lasting diseases that can be controlled but not cured.
Diabetes mellitus
A disorder caused by insulin deficiency.
Pancreas
An endocrine gland, located below the stomach, that produces digestive juices and hormones.
Islet cells
The part of the pancreas that produces glucagon and insulin.
Glucagon
A hormone secreted by the pancreas that stimulates the release of glucose, thus elevating blood sugar level.
Insulin
A hormone that enhances glucose intake to the cells
Asthma
A chronic disease that causes constriction of the bronchial tubes, preventing air from passing freely and causing wheezing and difficulty breathing during attacks.
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
A virus that attacks the human immune system, depleting the body’s ability to fight infection; the infection that causes AIDS
What is the impact of chronic disease on patients and families?
Long-term chronic illnesses bring about a transition in people’s lives, requiring adaptations to live with symptoms and receive medical care, changing relationships, and pushing people toward a reevaluation of themselves. Support groups and programs designed by health psychologists help people cope with the emotional problems associ- ated with chronic illness, problems that traditional
medical care often overlooks. Chronic diseases may be terminal, which forces people to consider their impending death.
What is the impact of Alzheimer’s disease?
Alzheimer’s disease damages the brain and prduces memory loss, language problems, agitation and irritability, sleep disorders, suspiciousness, wandering, incontinence, and loss of ability to perform routine care.
What is involved in adjusting to diabetes?
Diabetes, both insulin-dependent (Type 1) and non-insulin-dependent (Type 2), requires changes in lifestyle that include monitoring and adherence to a treatment regimen. Treatments include insulin injections for Type 1 diabetics and adherence to careful dietary restrictions, scheduling of meals, avoidance of certain foods, regular medical visits, and routine exercise for all diabetics. Health psychologists are involved in helping diabetics learn self-care to control the dangerous effects of their condition.
How does asthma affect the lives of people with this disease?
Inflammation of the bronchial tubes is the underlying basis for asthma. Combined with this inflammation, triggering stimuli or events cause bronchial constriction that produces difficulty in breathing. Asthma may be fatal, and it is the leading cause of disability among children.
How can HIV infection be managed?
Psychologists are involved in the HIV epidemic by encouraging protective behaviors, counseling infected people to help them cope with living with a chronic disease, and helping patients adhere to complex medical regimens that have changed HIV infection to a manageable chronic disease.
What adaptations do people make to dying and grieving?
People tend to react to the knowledge that they have a terminal illness with a variety of negative emotions, and the process of grieving also includes negative emotions. Contrary to popular conceptualizations, however, these reactions do not prog- ress through a pattern of stages. Instead, dying may be conceptualized as a role that includes practical, relational, and personal elements that people encounter in their process of adaptation. Grieving can also be conceptualized as a process with negative emotions but also with the possibility of growth.
