Module 1: Part 1 - Acute and Chronic Illness

Question 1

Give 3 characteristic of ACUTE illness

Answer 1

• Rapid onset
• Short duration
• Curable

Question 2

What is an example of an ACUTE illness?

Answer 2

Pneumonia, trauma, or MI

Question 3

Give 3 characteristics of CHRONIC illness

Answer 3

• Long-term (generally lasts 3+ months)
• Non-curable
• Often (but not always) associated with disability

Question 4

What is an example of a CHRONIC illness?

Answer 4

COPD, diabetes, CA

Question 5

What are some implications of CHRONIC disease?

Answer 5

• Pts must learn to live with illness
• They must come to terms with the illness
• Accept that CHRONIC illness may transform their identity and change role relationships

Question 6

What is adjustment to CHRONIC illness affected by?

Answer 6

• Personality before the illness
• Unresolved anger or grief from the past
• Suddenness, extent, and duration of lifestyle changes necessitated by the illness
• Family and individual resources for dealing with stress
• Stages of the individual/family life cycle
• Previous experience with illness and crises

Question 7

What are four modifiable risk factors for the development of CHRONIC illness?

Answer 7

Smoking, unhealthy diet, inactivity, obesity

Question 8

What are four non-modifiable risk factors?

Answer 8

Age, gender, race, genetics

Question 9

What factors are contributing to the rising costs ($$$) of CHRONIC illness?

Answer 9

• aging population
• longer life with chronic disease
• rising drug and treatment costs
• economic inflation
• new technology

Question 10

T or F:

The focus of nursing is on the human reaction to disruptions in health

Answer 10

T

Question 11

What is one of the most important components of CHRONIC illness management?

Answer 11

Adherence to Tx

Question 12

Explain the “snowball effect” in relation to CHRONIC illness

Answer 12

CHRONIC illnesses often lead to the development of other conditions

Question 13

T or F:

Only the pt is affected by CHRONIC illness

Answer 13

F - the whole family is affected because this causes a disrupting to the normal family life, role change, money, stress, stigma

Question 14

Who does the burden of care fall onto?

Answer 14

The family, nurses can provide support, teaching, etc but majority of care is done by pt family

Question 15

Is teaching about living with CHRONIC illness ever really the same as actually living with it?

Answer 15

No

Question 16

Is management of CHRONIC illness “one size fits all”?

Answer 16

No, there is much fine tuning to be done as the responses to certain Txs are evaluated

Question 17

Are CHRONIC illnesses treated only by nurses? Why?

Answer 17

No, because of the complexity of CHRONIC illnesses, there is usually a team of people involved with care

Question 18

CHRONIC illness are costly, challenging, and __________ troublesome

Answer 18

Ethically

Question 19

T or F:

CHRONIC illness is certain

Answer 19

F, CHRONIC illness is uncertain

Question 20

What are the phases of CHRONIC disease?

Answer 20

• Pretrajectory
• Trajectory
• Stable
• Unstable
• Acute
• Crisis
• Comeback
• Downward
• Dying

Question 21

What happens during the PRETRAJECTORY phase?

Answer 21

Genetic factors or lifestyle behaviours that predispose an individual or community at risk for the development of a chronic condition

Question 22

What happens during the TRAJECTORY phase?

Answer 22

onset of symptoms, waiting diagnosis

Question 23

What happens during the STABLE phase?

Answer 23

managing symptoms

Question 24

What happens during the UNSTABLE phase?

Answer 24

worsening of symptoms

Question 25

What happens during the ACUTE phase?

Answer 25

requires hospitalization

Question 26

What happens during the CRISIS phase?

Answer 26

life threatening

Question 27

What happens during the COMEBACK phase?

Answer 27

recovery after ACUTE/CRISIS phases

Question 28

What happens during the DOWNWARD phase?

Answer 28

worsening of condition

Question 29

What happens during the DYING phase?

Answer 29

failure of life-maintaining body functions

Question 30

What would the nurse do during the ASSESSMENT portion of ADPIE in CHRONIC illness

Answer 30

Assess:

• pts understanding/comprehension/learning needs
• Phase of illness
• Social, family, psychological factors impinging on goals

Question 31

What would the nurse do during the DIAGNOSIS/PLANNING/establishing goals portion of ADPIE in CHRONIC illness

Answer 31

• Collaborative “shared decision making” with authentic partnership
• Include family and support systems

Question 32

What would the nurse do during the INTERVENTION portion of ADPIE in CHRONIC illness

Answer 32

Teaching Plan (developed/communicated)

Question 33

What would the nurse do during the EVALUATION portion of ADPIE in CHRONIC illness

Answer 33

Evaluate the pts response to interventions

Question 34

What are 4 self-management themes?

Answer 34

1) Recognizing and monitoring the boundaries
2) Mobilizing Resources
3) Managing the shift in self-identity
4) Balancing, pacing, planning and prioritizing

Question 35

Who is involved in CHRONIC ILLNESS management?

Answer 35

Lots of people! It is a collaborative process between the person with the illness, the family, nurses, and other health care professionals.

Question 36

Where are most CHRONIC ILLNESSES managed?

Answer 36

In the patient’s own home

Question 37

T or F:

People of different cultures and genders tend to respond to illness differently

Answer 37

T, being aware of these differences is extremely important

Question 38

Why does Tx of CHRONIC ILLNESS require interdisciplinary collaboration?

Answer 38

Because CHRONIC ILLNESS can be extremely complex and have many complications and comorbidities, management of this illness is best done with the input of the healthcare team to offer better insight and outcomes.