Chronic Illnesses & Problem Solving

Question 1

what is a chronic illness?.

Answer 1

Persistent diseases that do not lead to early death constitute an important group of health problems. Sufferers may endure multiple handicaps that affect physical, social and psychological well-being

Question 2

why are people with chronic illnesses a burden on the NHS?

Answer 2

price of prescriptions
more complications
more GP visits

Question 3

what is incidence ?

Answer 3

number of new cases per year

Question 4

what is prevalence ?

Answer 4

number of existing cases

Question 5

is the incidence of chronic illnesses increasing or decreasing ?

Answer 5

increasing

- the incidence is greater then the prevalence

Question 6

define pathophysiology

Answer 6

the pathological basis of the underlying disease process

Question 7

define clinical disease

Answer 7

manifestation of signs and symptoms

Question 8

define illness episode

Answer 8

the time between the onset and the offset of illness

Question 9

define response

Answer 9

a pattern of decreasing symptoms and signs which indicate decrease in severity of the disease

Question 10

define recovery

Answer 10

sustained period of health that follows an episode of illness
symptoms don’t need further investigation

Question 11

define remission

Answer 11

a period following an episode of illness when signs and symptoms have decreased in severity but the symptoms may still need to be investigated

Question 12

define relapse

Answer 12

reinstatement of signs or symptoms following an episode of illness

Question 13

define recurrence

Answer 13

reinstatement of a new episode of illness after a period of remission

Question 14

what is activity limitation ?

Answer 14

restriction or lack of ability to perform an activity in a manner which would be considered normal

Question 15

state three factors which can be risk factors for chronic illnesses

Answer 15

• genetic
• environmental
• social

Question 16

define vulnerability

Answer 16

An individual’s capacity to resist disease, repair damage and restore physiological homeostasis.

Question 17

what impact can a chronic illness have on the individual?

Answer 17

self pit
apathy
denial

Question 18

what impact can a chronic illness have on the family?

Answer 18

financial
emotional
other family members can become ill

Question 19

what impact can a chronic illness have on the individual from the community ?

Answer 19

isolation

can’t precipitate in social activities

Question 20

give an example of an illness which has an acute onset?

Answer 20

stroke

Question 21

give an example of an illness which has a gradual onset?

Answer 21

angina

Question 22

how are chronic illnesses treated ?

Answer 22

aim management at

• disease
• symptoms

patient has to understand their illness is chronic
- this can be difficult

Question 23

what are the three main types of problem solving types ?

Answer 23

→ Pattern recognition
→ Hypothetico-deductive reasoning
→ Inductive reasoning

Question 24

what is pattern recognition problem solving?

Answer 24

recognising a pattern which almost always indicates a particular cause

Question 25

what is hypothetico-deductive reasoning ?

Answer 25

when the doctor thinks of several differential diagnoses

- thinks about the likely diagnosis not the most common diagnosis

Question 26

what is pay off?

Answer 26

at disproportionate attention to curable illnesses in the early stage compared to chronic illnesses

• meningitis has a high pay off
• MS has a low pay off

Question 27

What is inductive reasoning?

Answer 27

having no differential diagnoses from the beginning and going through a whole history to try find out crucial information

Question 28

what problem solving technique is used most by GPs?

Answer 28

hypothetico-ductive reasoning

Question 29

give a pro and con of inductive reasoning ?

Answer 29

pro = less likely to miss things 
con = time consuming