L9: chronic & terminal illness, ch 13, 14 - complete Flashcards
what is the initial response to chronic illness? what type of coping do people engage in early on?
- shock, anxiety
- emotion-focused coping is engaged in more early on (i.e., denial)
what 3 factors are involved in the coping process? what are the 3 influences to the coping process?
- coping process:
- appraisal
- adaptive tasks
- coping skills
- factors:
- illness-related factors
- background, personal factors
- physical/social environments
what are the 2 adaptive tasks in coping, among ill people? what are the 3-4 components of each task?
- related to the illness or treatment
- cope with symptoms or disability caused by the health problem
- adjust to the hospital environment and medical procedures/regimens
- develop and maintain good relationships with their practioners
- related to general psychosocial functioning
- control negative feelings and retain a positive outlook
- maintain a satisfactory self-image and sense of competence
- preserve good relationships with family and friends
- prepare for an uncertain future
what are 5 coping strategies found useful among cancer patients? why do some avoidance strategies prove beneficial?
- social support/direct problem solving (“talked it out with someone”)
- distancing (“I didn’t let it get to me”)
- positive focus (“I learned something from this experience”; similar to positive appraisal)
- cognitive escape/avoidance
- behavioural escape/avoidance
what are 3 types of maladaptive coping strategies in ill individuals? why?
- rumination
- interpersonal withdrawal
- avoidant coping
how does denial manifest in cancer patients? what strategies do they use?
- distractive strategies: reduce distress
- passive escape mechanisms: decrease psychological well-being (e.g., trying not to think about it)
what is the relationship between depression and chronic/terminal illness? why? how can this complicate medical evaluations and future prognoses?
- the longer one has a chronic/terminal illness, the greater their risk for depression and helplessness
- can complicate because of overlapping symptoms
- depression decreases cancer survivability
what are 2 factors involved in cancer stigma? what is the most heavily stigmatized cancer? what are its effects?
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factors involved in cancer stigma
1. extent to which an individual’s identity and sense of self are affected by the diagnosis
2. perceived controllability and visibility of cancer - most heavily stigmatized cancer: lung cancer
- effects: motivation to seek out treatment, see doctor, tell others, cancer screening
what are 3 tasks that are made to adapt to chronic conditions?
- mastery of demands directly related to ongoing management of the disease
- minimizing physical limitations and disability
- preserving as much positive functioning as possible
what is quality of life and what is it based on?
- the degree of excellence that one evaluates to exist in their life
- based on physical, psychological, vocational, and social functioning
- emphasis is based on daily living
how is quality of life evaluated? what is this referred to in research? why is this type of evaluation so useful?
- self-report likert-type scales
- subjective health
- high predictive validity in the rates of morbidity and mortality
- associated with prevalence, mortality, onset of all disease
is subjective health consistent with objective health? why or why not?
- yup
- because the patient can put on a holistic lens, consider a wide breadth of factors, and evaluate their life as a whole
- it also includes emotional factors, which can result in better life behaviour
why has the predictive validity of self-reported health increased over time?
- more access to health resources
- so they’re better at assessing their own stress
give at least 4 reasons why caregiving is a chronic stressor (8 total)
- not having time to care for yourself
- engaging in unhealthy behaviours
-disrupted or insufficient sleep - poor stress management and preventation
- degrading social relationships and poor support
- increase in economic cost
what are 3 health costs of caregiving? what are the health outcomes of caregivers? why?
- higher levels of depression and physical health problems in caregivers when compared with non-caregivers
- spouse caregivers who reported strain were at risk for premature mortality
- abnormal measures of endocrine and immune system function
why is it important to study caregiving in this day and age?
- aging population resulting in more and more people needing caregiving
- less people available to provide caregiving
- family members will need to increase their efforts to keep up with care need
after being diagnosed with a seriously life-threatening illness, what is the main issue of concern?
- mortality