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Being creative and resourceful : Individuals’ abilities and possibilities for self-management of chronic illness / Att vara kreativ och resursstark : Individers förmåga och möjlighet till egenvård av kronisk sjukdom

Individuals’ self-management styles are crucial for how they manage to live with illness. Commonly investigated factors include social support, self-efficacy, health beliefs, and demographics. There is a gap in the literature with regard to in-depth studies of how those factors actually influence an individual’s self-management.   The aim of this thesis was to investigate the underlying mechanisms of self-management from the perspective of individuals living with chronic illness.   Interviews were conducted with 47 individuals with various chronic illnesses, some of them repeatedly over two and a half years (a total of 107 interviews). The material was analysed with; constructive grounded theory, content analysis, phenomenography, and interpretive description.   The Self-management Support Model identified aspects that influenced participants’ self-management: economic and social situation, social support, views and perspectives on illness, attribution of responsibility, and ability to integrate self-management into an overall life situation. For example, individuals with a life-oriented or disease-oriented perspective on illness prioritized different aspects of self-management. People who attributed internal responsibility performed a more complex self-management regimen than individuals who attributed external responsibility. In conclusion, individuals who were creative and resourceful had a better chance of tailoring a self-management regimen that suited them well. People in more disadvantaged positions (e.g., financial strain, limited support, or severe intrusive illness) experienced difficulty in finding a method of self-management that fit their life situation.   These findings can inspire healthcare providers to initiate a reflective dialogue about self-management with their patients. / Exploring individuals’ conceptions as a way to understand self-management among people living with long term medical conditions

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:miun-13512
Date January 2011
CreatorsAudulv, Åsa
PublisherMittuniversitetet, Institutionen för hälsovetenskap, Sundsvall : Mittuniversitetet
Source SetsDiVA Archive at Upsalla University
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeDoctoral thesis, comprehensive summary, info:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesis, text
Formatapplication/pdf
Rightsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
RelationMid Sweden University doctoral thesis, 1652-893X ; 109

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