Psychological Factors and Asthma Control Flashcards
Why are psychological factors important?
- impact on disease process (taking in information/adherence to treatment)
- reduced quality of life
- psychological theory can help us understand health behaviours (how people respond to illness/management)
- respiratory illness has significant psychological impact
What are the associations between asthma control and psychological factors?
- asthma related deaths
- near fatal asthma
- brittle asthma
- non-compliance
- A and E visits
- depression, anxiety, panic and denial
Why is it important to improve the psychological factors in asthma control?
- service level: reduce number of hospital admissions which can save money
- individual level: help reduce the number of attacks/exacerbations
What is anxiety?
a state of intense apprehension, uncertainty and fear resulting from the anticipation of a threatening event or situation often to a degree that normal physical and psychological functioning is disrupted
What are the different psychological, behavioural and cognitive cues of anxiety?
psychological:
- thoughts that something bad is going to happen
- fear of losing control
- sense of dread
- loss of confidence
behavioural:
- fidgeting
- hesitating
- avoidance
- shaking
cognitive cues:
- difficulties with concentration and attention
- memory problems, forgetful
Describe the vicious cycle of breathlessness with anxiety/panic
- concentrating on breathing
- becomes hypervigilent of bodily sensations
- activates fight or flight causing
- increased breathing rate
- shallow breathing
- heart racing
- dizziness
Describe the progression of denial and avoidance as a coping strategy
coping by avoidance is good in the short term but long term leads to more anxiety and depression, reducing physical functioning and more discomfort
Where can misconceptions come from?
- conflicting information
- interaction with doctor
- at times of anxiety or distress we can focus on the cause of distress and may not register other important information
Describe the impairment disability triad quality of life model
- focus on impairment and disability
- impairment: any loss/abnormality of psychological, physiological or anatomical structure or function. In comparison to the range considered normal for a healthy human being
- disability: any restriction or lack of ability to perform an activity (resulting from impairment). Relative to prior status
- internal focus: about the individual (lacks context)
Describe the international classification of function quality of life model
- interaction of concepts, takes into account:
- body function and structure (impairment)
- activities (limitation)
- participation (restriction)
- environmental factors
- personal factors
Describe the biomedical model of illness
there is a direct correlation with illness and physical damage
Describe the biopsychosocial model of illness for asthma
- asthma is comprised of biological, psychological and social factors that affect our experience of health and illness
- bio: biochemistry, genetics, bacteria
- psycho: beliefs, behaviour, emotion
- social: culture, deprivation, social support, employment
Describe the common sense model (self-regulation model) of illness
- looks at how person makes sense of illness and illness representations (beliefs) and how they affect mood, motivation and behaviour
- parallel process of coping with the illness itself and the emotional response to it
What are the 5 components of understanding an illness by the common sense model of illness?
- identity: name, the signs and symptoms associated with it
- cause: internal/external
- consequences: physical, social, economic, emotional
- timeline: acute, recurrent, chronic
- is there a cure, is there a degree of control?
Describe patient self management in asthma
- fluctuating nature of asthma means that patients need to have decision making skills and respond appropriately to changes in symptom control
- patient education aids this
- patients needs to be aware of bodily changes and respond accordingly
