As I encounter life during a global pandemic, caused by a virus that has us all homebound, I continue my own struggle with a different virus that keeps me not only homebound, but bed bound as well. In this thesis project, I make my way around and through the questions of chronic illness, self-worth, productivity and a changing relationship to time that arise in this dual viral experience - situating the personal within a larger social/political context.

No description available.

The purpose of this article is to synthesize the evidence on advance care planning (ACP), determine what is applicable to the home health (HH) setting, and find where gaps in knowledge may exist. An integrative review methodology was chosen. Although there is ample literature on the topic of ACP, most research has been conducted in the acute care, outpatient, and general community settings. There is limited literature regarding ACP with patients living with chronic cardiovascular and pulmonary illnesses, who comprise the majority of the HH population. Some literature has been published regarding the interprofessional team's role in ACP in the HH setting. A gap in knowledge exists regarding ACP in HH, and recommendations for future research are provided.

Frequent absences resulting from a chronic illness can disrupt adolescent school involvement, impacting academic achievement and psychosocial development as a result. This study explores whether certified child life specialists (CCLSs) could be a resource for parents as they address their adolescents' academic disruptions. Specifically, this study assesses an online training program designed to increase CCLSs' knowledge and self-efficacy as related to adolescents' academic adjustment following frequent absences. This knowledge and skill based training was designed as a three part module with sections including: academic considerations, psychosocial considerations, and availability of school resources in promoting successful adolescent academic adjustment. 62 CCLSs were recruited to participate and complete measures evaluating knowledge, in relation to content included in each module, and self-efficacy, involving communication with parents in regards to adolescent academic adjustment. T-tests were conducted to determine whether there were differences in reports of self-efficacy and knowledge following participation in the intervention between and within the treatment and control groups. Results indicate statistical significance for enhanced knowledge and self-efficacy for the treatment group at post-test. Therefore, the outcomes from this study support the effectiveness of brief online training in fostering knowledge and feelings of efficacy for CCLSs in a context not typically included in child life education or certification. As a result, findings from this study may be used to expand intervention programs in the clinical setting to provide more comprehensive psychosocial care to adolescents diagnosed with a chronic illness.

HIV/AIDS is an illness that is more correlated than any other with high rates of stigmatization and discrimination. People diagnosed with this illness have to cope with a new potentially life threatning situation and stigmatized identity. Common social interactions or heath complications become a potential source of confrontation, which can endanger social relations, or damage and spoil the identity of people living with HIV/AIDS. This study jointly analyzes the concept of social and health risks, stigmatization and identity and focuses on the following: 1) The process of coping with the diagnosis and its impact on the identity and everyday life of people living with HIV/AIDS 2) The role of accessible social networks on the coping process with this illness and stigmatization; and 3) The strategies of health and social risk management used in connection with this illness. Awareness and acquisition of information on HIV/AIDS plays an important role in overcomming the initial shock of the diagnosis and coping with the disease. Thanks to the support of social networks, the diagnosed person can reach much easier and faster the so called "rational approach" to the illness and safely awknowledge and accept HIV/AIDS as a part of his or her life. People living with HIV/AIDS also face many risks. In this...

Swedish healthcare is facing a major challenge in the future caused byhigher needs for care, large staff redundancies and increased costs.Chronically ill people who belong to a large part of the care burden arealso expected to increase. To respond to the increased burden, severalcare units around Sweden have turned to the digitalsolution. Digital homemonitoring is a digital tool used in the care of the chronic illness. Thepurpose of this report is to investigate what experiences caregivers havewith digital home monitoring in the care of the chronically ill. The carework for the chronically ill is important because it affects the results of thechronically ill person's health condition. Data collection methods usedwere qualitative interviews with healthcare professionals and reportsfrom reliable sources. The theoretical framework is based on the theorymodel: The eHealth enhanced chronic care model (eCCM) which describesvarious components and how digital tools affect care for the chronicallyill.Results from the study show both positive and negative effectswhen using digital home monitoring. When there is a willingnessfrom patients to use the system, it contributes to a positive effect onthe state of health. Which lead to an indirectly increase of thecaregiver's experience of the tool. When a patient feels reluctant touse the system, the use has a negative effect on both the patientand the caregiver. Suggestions for further research are to dofurther research on digital home monitoring, but also focus on thenegative effects to find future solutions. / Den svenska sjukvården står inför en stor utmaning i framtiden somorsakas av högre behov av vård, stora personalavgångar och ökadekostnader. Kroniskt sjuka som tillhör en stor del av vårdbelastningenförväntas även öka. I ett försök att besvara den ökade belastningen harflera vårdenheter runtom i Sverige vänt sig mot den digitala lösningen.Digital hemmonitorering är ett digitalt verktyg som används vid vård avkroniskt sjuka. Syftet med denna rapport är att undersöka vilkaerfarenheter och upplevelser vårdgivare har med digital hemmonitoreringvid vård av kroniskt sjuka. Vårdarbetet för kroniskt sjuka är viktigteftersom det påverkar resultaten av kroniskt sjukas hälsotillstånd.Datainsamlingsmetoder som användes var kvalitativa intervjuer medvårdpersonal och rapporter från tillförlitliga källor. Det teoretiskaramverket bygger på teorimodellen The eHealth enhanced chronic caremodel (eCCM) som beskriver olika komponenter och hur digitala verktygpåverkar vård vid kroniskt sjuka.Resultat från studien visar både positiva och negativa effekter vidanvändningen av digital hemmonitorering. När det finns en vilja frånpatienter att använda systemet bidrar det till en positiv effekt påhälsotillståndet. Det ökar då indirekt vårdgivarens upplevelse avverktyget. När en patient känner motvilja till att använda systemet,påverkar användningen negativt för både patienten och vårdgivaren.Förslag till vidare forskning är att forska vidare på digital hemmonitorering, men fokusera även på de negativa effekterna för attfinna framtida lösningar.

No description available.

The purpose of this article is to synthesize the evidence on advance care planning (ACP), determine what is applicable to the home health (HH) setting, and find where gaps in knowledge may exist. An integrative review methodology was chosen. Although there is ample literature on the topic of ACP, most research has been conducted in the acute care, outpatient, and general community settings. There is limited literature regarding ACP with patients living with chronic cardiovascular and pulmonary illnesses, who comprise the majority of the HH population. Some literature has been published regarding the interprofessional team's role in ACP in the HH setting. A gap in knowledge exists regarding ACP in HH, and recommendations for future research are provided.

This mixed-media memoir uses a variety of forms from short epigrammatic essays to straightforward stories and graphic narratives to explore the author’s coming-of-age experiences augmented by chronic illness. Trying to succeed in the film industry, romance, and family situations, the young female narrator navigates the often unexpected or disappointing consequences of having an autonomic nervous system disorder. Relationships between conflicting identities emerge—between healthy versus sick self, projected/envisioned versus actual self, and tough versus vulnerable self—as the narrator journeys toward a more complete and accepting self-understanding.

Backround. Based of my personal observations when employed as a pharmacist in a Saudi hospital it was clear that there were problems with medicine supply to outpatients. This thesis was designed to scientifically investigate the types of shortages, the reason(s) for such problems and potential solutions to the problem. Methods . This study was undertaken using a variety of experimental techniques to determine the views and perceptions of patients, pharmacists, physicians and administrative staff of the hospital under examination. To establish the scale of the problem: focus groups (n=25), structured questionnaires, structured interviews/meetings for health care professionals and a national survey (n=650) were the research tools used to objectively determine the relevant data. The data were analyzed by appropriate statistical methods. Results and Discussion That there was a real problem was quickly established in the data obtained from patients. A similar finding was made for each of the ¿professional groups¿. The central problem was one of shortages of medicines for prescriptions presented by outpatients. It was not a case the medicines were simply not available because they were never stocked but rather a simple shortage in the dispensary stock. It was established the lack of medicines was not due to central budget arrangements but involved prescribing quantities outside of the hospital guidelines which no degree of planning could accommodate. There was also the very unexpected finding that a prescription could be filled in a variety of hospital dispensaries as individuals could access more than one hospital or they could consult more than one physician for the same condition and obtain effectively double the supplies. Communications between the hospital and patients and the health care professionals could all be improved by perhaps increasing the knowledge of the patient about the correct use of medicines. Recommendations. A series of recommendations for future work is provided / Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia