AMERICIANS LIVING WITH CHRONIC ILLNESS

Americans living with Chronic Illness



Americans living with Chronic Illness

Introduction

Chronic illness and disability are broad conceptual terms referring to a wide range of ongoing and multiplex health and human capacity conditions. Common to most chronic diseases or disabling conditions is the requirement for a dynamic and evolving array of family decisions, and actions toward managing the effects of the condition so that the affected member can achieve the best possible level of health and functional ability across the life span. Chronic illness during childhood influences both the child and family. How the family views the illness, deals with the challenges it presents, and incorporates illness management into their daily lives can either promote healthy functioning or create additional stress and burden on the family unit. There is a growing prevalence of children who have chronic health conditions. In the United States alone, the number of children with chronic health problems—and the challenges that they and their families encounters been on the incline for the past several decades. The diagnosis of a chronic illness is devastating to a parent. The challenges are substantial for the childrearing family who has a child with chronic health problems (Fisher, 2001).

Discussion

As noted by Anderson and Horvath in 2004, approximately 84% of persons age 65 and older been diagnosed with at least one chronic condition, and 62% have two or more chronic diseases. Prevalence rates do not differ by gender or income. The rate of chronic illness is higher among white populations (46%) than African American populations (37%) or other racial groups (32%), but African Americans are 1.5 times more likely than whites to report functional impairment. Activities of daily living (ADLs), which include tasks such as bathing, dressing, feeding, toileting, and ambulation, commonly used as markers of function. The Administration on Aging reported that among Medicare recipients who lived at home in 2007, more than 25% impaired in one or two ADLs (Alderfer, 2006).

When a family faces a chronic illness or disability in one of its members, numerous challenges often present themselves and affect all areas of family life. Work or school attendance can be compromised by the condition or the need for ongoing health care. In addition, each family member must adapt to the diagnosis and medical needs of the ill or disabled person and deal with their own sadness or worry. A significant challenge faced by many families is ...