Aims: This study aims to explore the experience of osteoarthritis (OA) in older adults, drawing on concepts from the literature on chronic illness including social-cognition models (e.g. Self-Regulatory Model) and cognitive concepts (e.g. self-schema). Design and Participants: A qualitative research design and Phenomenological Interpretative Analysis Methodology were used. Sixteen participants were interviewed. Ten were recruited from an orthopaedic surgical waiting list source and six from a GP source: age ranged from 67 to 79 years, and history of osteoarthritis ranged from one to 35 years. Measures: A semi-structured interview schedule was designed and piloted, based on the research literature. Results: Analysis identified the following themes: Demands of OA (pain, impact on activity, and impact on mood); Perceptions ofOA (onset/deterioration, cause, label, seriousness, prognosis); Strategies to manage OA (use of health services, changes in behaviour, psychological strategies, appraisal of strategies); Perception of Self (compared to past/future/others) and Contextual factors (age, co-morbidity, waiting list). Links between themes were reciprocal, and a tentative model ofOA is presented. Implications: A comprehensive model of the experience of chronic illness could provide a framework to guide interventions for direct clinical interventions (e.g. adjustment to chronic illness, pain management, identification of psychological comorbidity) and indirect interventions (e.g. consultancy with other health professionals).

Global climate change has brought about not only rise in global temperature, but also other climate anomalies such as severe storms, droughts and floods. To reduce damages from these disasters, both the government and public need to take preparations. This study aims to explore the factors that may influence the public's flood preparedness. The explored factors were derived from Rogers¡¦s (1983) protection motivation theory and Grothmann and Patt's (2005) model of private proactive adaptation to climate change. A questionnaire was mailed to a random sample of Kaohsiung citizens, 490 of whom lived in flood-prone areas and the rest 210 lived in other areas in Kaohsiung. A total of 264 citizens responded. Results showed that threat appraisal and coping appraisal could affect the intent to prepare, and threat appraisal was affected by reliance on government and disaster experience. These suggest that if the government wants to increase people's flood preparedness, it should both (a) make people alert to the severity and high possibility of future floods, and (b) make people believe that they could take affordable and effective measures to reduce their flood damage.