The Effects of Chronic Illness on a Family

Paper Summary:

This paper presents an interview and family assessment that was conducted with a family where one of the family members is suffering from a chronic illness, rheumatoid arthritis. The interview aimed to obtain and provide knowledge so that the patient and family could be empowered to make choices and to take control of their illness. The paper presents the interview and discusses how the perceptions and impact of the chronic illness affect the family as a whole. The paper provides the writer's commentary on the issues raised from the perspective of a nurse.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
Interview with Mr. and Mrs. Anino
Analysis of Perceptions and Impact of Chronic Illness
Appendix

From the Paper:

"John and Maria used all the resources and supports they could. John helped when Maria was ill, and they received help and support from their relatives. Jacobi & van den Berg (2003) found that partners of patients with rheumatoid arthritis felt high self-esteem for care. A family will experience burdens because of a disrupted schedule and by a lack of family support. According to Bar-Tal (1994), social support can be a complex concept. Instead of assuming that social support can help to resolve uncertainty, the ability to deal with uncertainty may be caused by the perception that there is social support. Social support may help to resolve uncertainty but social support is more effective for families that can cope with uncertainty (Bar-Tal, 1994)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bar-Tal, Y. (1004). Uncertainty and the perception of sufficiency of social support, control, and information. The Psychological Record, 44 (1), 13-19.
• Devins, G. (1993). Illness intrusiveness and depressive symptoms over the adult years: is there a differential impact across chronic conditions? Canadian Journal of Behavioral Science, 25 (3), 400-412.
• Jacobi, C. & van den Berg, B. (2003). Dimension-specific burden of caregiving among partners of rheumatoid arthritis patients. Rheumatology, 42 (10), 1226-1234.
• Kozier, B. (2004). Fundamentals of nursing. Toronto: Prentice Hall.
• Ryan, S. (1996). Living with rheumatoid arthritis: A phenomenological exploration. Nursing Standard, 10 (41), 45-48.

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