Final Exam Flashcards
Quality of life1
Responses to chronic illness, self-perceptions and chronic illness, coping with chronic illness, interventions with managing chronic illness
Definition of chronic illness
An illness which is persistent or long-lasting in its effects, constantly recurring, always present, and cannot cured.
Self-management
Involvement of the patient in all aspects of their care, including changes in social/vocational roles and coping
Responses to chronic illness
Denial, anxiety, depression
Significance of depression response
Negative impact on symptoms, long-term reaction that doesn’t ebb or flow like anxiety, and has been linked to suicide among the chronically ill
Positive responses to chronic illness
Hope and optimism, feeling of another chance (having escaped death), have re-ordered their priorities, finding meaning in daily activities, put more effort into relationships, feeling stronger and more self-assured
Quality of life 2
Refers to sum of components such as: physical functioning, disease or treatment-related symptomatology, psychological status, social functioning
Self-concept
Refers to stable set of beliefs about one’s qualities and attributes.
Self-esteem
Evaluation of self-concept as good or bad.
Body image
Plummets during chronic illness, unfortunate tie between body image and self-esteem. Poor body image is related to increased likelihood of depression and anxiety, as well as poor self-esteem.
Active coping
Leaning into the problem. Used when satisfied with level of social support.
Cancer
Set of more than 100 diseases which results from a dysfunction in DNA: cells cannot cease replicating.
Causes of hypertension
90% essential (unknown), 5% is caused by failure of kidneys to to regulate blood pressure. Genetic, behavioural and lifestyle factors. Early blood pressure reactivity is predictive of hypertension as an adult.
HPV vaccine
Gardasil and Cervarix
HPV and cancer
HPV causes abnormal growths and can last for years
Cancers in AYAs
Young men: colorectal cancer, testicular cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, thyroid cancer. Young women: breast cancer, cervical cancer, melanoma, thyroid cancer.
Biopsychosocial factors and cancer
Stress adversely affects the ability of natural killer (NK) cells (effector lymphocytes) to destroy tumours. NK activity is important to survival rates for breast cancer and alterations in biological stress pathways may affect course of cancer.
Depression and cancer
Up to 20% of people with cancer are affected by depression. There is a modest but reliable link between depression and cancer mortality.
Coronary Heart/Artery Disease
General term for illnesses caused by atherosclerosis, second leading cause of death, chronic disease
Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection (SCAD)
Tear forms in the wall of a heart artery. Blood builds up between layers of the coronary wall. 90% of SCAD cases are women between 30-60 years of age.
Treatments for heart disease
Medications (beta blockers, aspirin, statins, nitrates), angioplasty, surgery
Problems in treating hypertension
Hidden disease (no symptoms) with diagnosis usually occurring during a general examination. However, care is now symptom-based vs preventative.
Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)
Increased arterial pressure in arteries that go from heart to lungs. Small arteries in lungs become narrow/blocked, making blood flow harder and raising blood pressure.
Stroke rehabilitation
Psychotherapy/antidepressants, cognitive-remedial training,use of structured/stimulating environments to challenge capabilities, training in specific skills development, and neurorehabilitation
Average life expectancy in Canada
84 for women, 80 for men
Death in infancy or childhood
Infant mortality rate associated with socio-economic status. Mortality among Indigenous infants much higher. Caused mainly by congenital abnormalities, SIDS (infant stops breathing, sleeping position related to SIDS)
Causes of death, ages 1 to 15
MVCs, cancer (both on decline). MVCs, suicide, cancer, homicide
Mental illness, addiction and suicide
FNM youth 6x more likely to die by suicide, Inuit youth 24x national average
Reactions to the death of a young person
Considered tragic, communities feel that person was robbed of chance to have a life, develop, and mature
Death in 40s and 50s
People begin to develop and manifest illnesses that will likely kill them. Death becomes more common in cohort or parents. Midlife crisis partially stems from realization of mortality.
Death in old age
Death may be easier at this age, and the elderly are generally more prepared to face death. Initial preparations have been made, some family/friends have died. The dying person may have already come to terms with the issues themselves.
End-of-life care
Health care provided in the hours, days, or months before a person passes.
Substitute decision-maker
Parents or spouse who make decisions for patients unable to assert own needs.
Advanced care directives
“Living wills”, often developed when diagnosed with terminal illness.
Do not resuscitate - DNR
No life support, signed by nurse or physician, assigned a serial number
Health problems in young children
Young children generally do not understand what is going on.
Health problems in adolescents
Understand the nature of their condition, but need to be liked an accepted.
Health problems in young adults
Leads to resentment. Young adults had plans which now need to be adjusted.
Health problems in middle age adults
Leads to adjustment problems.
Health problems in old age
Leads to resentment due to lack of leisure.
Environmental factors
Physical aspects of a hospital/home environment, presence of social support to undermine or support coping, poor and strong relationships
Cognitive appraisal
Adaptive tasks and coping skills
Adaptive tasks
Defined as the tasks related to illness and treatment and to psychosocial functioning. Can be very difficult for patients when their illness leads to death or disability in particular. Instead, avoidance coping is more likely if the patient believes change is impossible.
Coping skills
Denial, minimization, seeking info, self-management goals, support
Adaptation
Refers to the process of making changes in order to adjust constructively to life’s changes. For major chronic illness diagnoses, this involves major adaptive tasks and mastery of demands.
Quality of life
Refers to degree of excellence people appraise their lives to maintain. For HCPs, medical management for chronic illnesses involves quality of life.
Asthma
Respiratory disease triggered by environmental conditions/physical activity, treated using anti-inflammatories, inhalers. Exercise and stress can produce reactions. Anxiety can induce reactions as well as suggestions.
Epilepsy
Recuurent, sudden seizures (risk factors for sudden death), treated using anticonvulsants, taken regularly. Heightened emotional arousal increases likelihood of seizure.
Spinal cord injury
Injury to spinal cord resulting in loss of motor control, sensation and reflexes.
Diabetes
T1 is juvenile, insulin dependent. Increased social support is linked to increased self-adherence.
Primary aging
Refers to molecular and cellular aging. Uncontrollable.
Secondary aging
Aging which occurs due to environmental factors. Often controllable.
Male-female health-survival paradox
Men die earlier, but women experience more disability and poor health. This is thought to be because men are more likely to smoke, drink, and engage in risky behaviours, while women remain more socially connected into their old age.
Exercise
Can improve fall risk, reduce cognitive decline (if paired with cognitive activity), protects against decline
Reactions of patients following diagnosis of a high-mortality illness
Mortality becomes the largest issue of concern for patients following diagnosis of a high-mortality illness. At this time, patients are hopeful, but begin to view future plans more tentatively. Switch from avoidance to active coping. Day-to-day activities become very important.
Angina pectoris
Refers to a brief reduction in oxygenated blood to heart, causing pain. Caused by ischemia.
Ischemia
Refers to lack of sufficient oxygen available to muscular part of heart. Can occur as a result of physical exertion/stress. No damage if ischemia is short, but heart tissue can be destroyed if long (heart attack).
Congestive heart failure
Refers to a condition heart’s capacity to pump blood no longer meets the body’s needs. Caused shortness of breath when exertion is absent, and the lungs to fill with fluid.
Stroke
Condition wherein damage occurs to area of brain where blood supply is disrupted, depriving it of oxygen. Can be ischemic or hemorrhagic.
Ischemic stroke
Reduction in blood supply
Hemorrhagic stroke
Burst blood vessel bleeds into brain
Risk factors for strokes
Middle (triples each decade past 55), male, BIPOC/South Asian
Risk factors for heart attacks
Old age, male, Europeans, Indigenous, South Asians
Risk factors for cancer
55+, male, FNMI
