Session 5 - Chronic illness

Question 1

What is illness work?

Answer 1

The work people have to do to manage their symptoms (dealing with the physical manifestations of disease)

Question 2

What is everyday life work?

Answer 2

Changes which need to be done to maintain a normal life
Do you try to live like you used and hide symptoms or embrace your new life as normal?
Coping with illness, can I remain independent?

Question 3

What is emotional work?

Answer 3

Work done to protect the emotions of those around them…
Putting in a face and playing down symptoms
Actively trying to maintain normal activities
Ask yourself…what impact will this have on their role within the family???

Question 4

What’s is biographical work?

Answer 4

Realisation of how fragile life is and that it can all crumble away from you. Loss of self image and direction is life, this is a disruptive process.
Struggle to live a valued life.
This is the work that needs to be done to reconstruct your biography

Question 5

What is identity work?

Answer 5

Chronic illness can disrupt the way you view yourself and this is the work done to for a new image of self

Question 6

Diellemas of identity work in the following

Answer 6

Foster dependance on others
Requires more intimate relationships
Relationships are harder to maintains (inability to do things)
The inability to do things leads to the loss of self image
You scrutinise other people’s reactions looking for some form of discreditation

Question 7

Define stigma

Answer 7

A mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality or person

Question 8

What are the 4 types of stigma?

Answer 8

Discredited
Discreditable
Felt
Enacted

Question 9

What is the difference between discredited and discreditable stigma?

Answer 9

Discredited is physical visible characteristic which could lead to stigma (e.g. A facial deformity)
Discreditable is stuff that if know can lead to stigma (e.g. People knowing you stuffer from depression)

Question 10

What is the difference between enacted and felt stigma?

Answer 10

Enacted stigma is the experience of prejudices and discrimination
Felt stigma is the fear of enacted stigma -> feeling of shame

Question 11

Why is self management difficult to achieve?

Answer 11

Poor adherance

Lack of knowledge of condition

Question 12

Expert patient programmes try to improve self management and reduce reliance on health care are services. What are some of the pros and cons?

Answer 12

Pros - reduce hospital admissions and reliance on HCPs, also a great coping mechanism of patients
Cons - lay referral, patient run so may not be equip with knowlege (bad advice) some people actually need HCPs to cope, little evidence of efficiency savings

Question 13

What is the medical definition of disability?

Answer 13

A deviation from the norm which requires medical assistance

Question 14

What are the critiques of the medical definitions

Answer 14

Stigmatising language

Does not take into account social and psychological factors

Question 15

What is the social definition of disability?

Answer 15

Disability is a product of a disabilities environment and social oppression…political change needed REVOLT

Question 16

What are the critiques of the social definition of disability?

Answer 16

Does not place any focus on the body
Overly drawn view of society
Failure to recognise bodily realties

Question 17

What is the international classication of impairments, disability and handicaps (ICIDH)?

Answer 17

Impairments (abnormalities in structure or function) leads to disability (loss of being able to do things) which leads to handicaps (social and psychological consequences of living with impairments and disabilities)

Question 18

What are some problems with the ICIDH?

Answer 18

The word handicaps
Very medical definition
Impairment does not always lead to disability (it is not inevitable)

Question 19

What is the internationals classification of function, disability and health?

Answer 19

And attempt to unify the medical and social definition of disability.

• body structure and func
• activities undertaken by individual (are they difficult?)
• effect of personal and environmental factors
• participation in life situations (is this restricted?)

Question 20

What are the different types of work people have to do to come to terms with having a chronic illness?

Answer 20

Illness work
Emotional work
Everyday lift work
Identity work
Biographical work