ILLNESS AND DISEASE
extended period, usually 6 months or
ILLNESS
• Is a highly personal state in which the
persons’ physical, emotional,
intellectual, social, developmental, or
spiritual functioning is thought to be
diminished.
• It is not synonymous with disease and
may not be related to disease.
• Illness is highly subjective; only the
individual person can say he or she is ill.
DISEASE
• Can be describe as an alteration in body
functions resulting in a reduction of
capacities or a shortening of the normal
life span.
• Traditionally, intervention by primary
care providers has the goal of
eliminating or ameliorating disease
process. Primitive people thought
“forces” or spirits caused disease.
• The causation of disease or condition is
called ETIOLOGY.
• Example of etiologic agent: tuberculosis
(tubercle baccilus or mycobacterium
tuberculosis), pneumonia
(streptococcus pneumoniae)
Ways to classify Illness and Disease
(Acute and Chronic)
• Acute Illness- is typically characterized
by symptoms of relatively short
duration.
• The symptoms often appear
abruptly and subside quickly
and, depending on the cause,
may or may not require
intervention by health care
professionals.
• Chronic Illness- in one that lasts for an
longer, and often for the persons’ life.
• Chronic illnesses usually have a
slow onset and often have
periods of remission, when the
symptoms disappear, and
exacerbation, when the
symptoms reappear.
ILLNESS BEHAVIORS
• A coping mechanism, involves ways
individuals describe, monitor, and
interpret their symptoms, take remedial
actions, and use the health care system.
• How people behave when they are ill is
highly individualized and affected by
many variables, such as age, sex,
occupation, socioeconomic status,
religion, ethnic origin, psychological
stability, personality, education, and
modes of coping.
Parsons (1979) describe four aspects of
the sick role
• Rights:
• 1. Clients are not held
responsible for their condition.
Even if the illness was partially
caused by an individual’s
behavior (e.g., lung cancer from
smoking), the individual is not
capable of reserving the
condition on his or her own.
• 2. Clients are excused from
certain social roles and tasks.
• Obligations:
• 3. Clients are obliged to try to
get well as quickly as possible.
 • 4. Clients or their families are Stage 5: RECOVERY OR
obliged to seek competent help. REHABILITATION

During this stage the client is expected

to relinquish the dependent role and
Suchman (1979) describe five stages of illness
resume former roles and
• Stage 1: SYMPTOM EXPERIENCES responsibilities.

• The person comes to believe EFFECTS OF ILLNESS

something is wrong.
• Illness brings about changes both the
• 3 aspects of Stage 1 involved individual and in the family.

• The physical experience of • The changes vary depending on the

symptoms nature, severity, and duration of the
illness, attitudes associated with illness
• The cognitive aspect by the client and others, the financial
• The emotional response demands, the lifestyle changes incurred,
and adjustments to usual roles.
• Stage 2: ASSUMPTION OF THE SICK
PEOPLE IMPACT ON THE CLIENT

The individual now accepts the sick role • Ill clients may experience behavioral
and sick confirmation from family and and emotional changes, changes in
friends. self-concept and body image, and
lifestyle changes.
 Stage 3: MEDICAL CARE CONTACT • Behavioral and emotional changes
Sick people seek the advice of a health associated with short-term illness are
professional either on their own generally mild and short lived.
initiative or at the urging of significant • Certain illness can also change the
others. client’s body image or physical
appearance.
3 types of information for medical
professional
Ill individuals also vulnerable to loss of
• Validation of real illness autonomy, the state of being independent and
• Explanation of the symptoms in self-directed without outside control.
understandable terms Nurses can help clients adjust their lifestyle by
• Reassurance that they will be all right or these means:
prediction of what the outcome will be. • Provide explanation about
• Stage 4: DEPENDENT CLIENT ROLE necessary adjustments

After accepting the illness and seeking • Make arrangements wherever

treatment, the client becomes possible to accommodate the
dependent on the professional for help. client’s lifestyle
 • Encourage other health
professionals to become aware
of the person’s lifestyle and to
support healthy aspects of that
lifestyle
• Reinforce desirable changes in
practices with a view to making
them permanent part of the
client’s lifestyle
IMPACT ON THE FAMILY
• A person’s illness affects not only the
person who is ill but also the family or
significant others.
• The kind of effect and its extent depend
chiefly on three factors:
• 1. the member of the family is
ill
• 2. the seriousness and length of
the illness
• 3. the cultural and social
customs the family follows.
• The changes can occur in the family
include the following:
• Role changes
• Task reassignments and
increased demands on time
CARING FOR YOURSELF
• To be able to provide competent,
quality, and safe care, nurses need to
take care of themselves to ensure
remain healthy.
• Nurses are very susceptible to the
development of compassion fatigue,
which is a combination of secondary
traumatic stress (STS) and burnout (BO).
• STS develops because of the
relationships that nurses develop with
their patients and families, whereas BO
stems conflicts or nurse job
dissatisfaction within the work setting
(Kelly and Lefton, 2017; Henson, 2017)
• Compassion fatigue frequently affects
nurse's health, often leading to a
decline in health, changes in sleep and
eating patterns, emotional exhaustion,
irritability, restless, impaired ability to
focus and engage with patients, feeling
of hopelessness, inability to take
pleasure from activities and anxiety
(Kelly and Lefton, 2017; Henson, 2017)
• It is important for nurses to engage in
personal and professional strategies to
help combat compassion fatigue and
promote resiliency.

• Increased stress due to anxiety

about the outcome of the
illness for the client and conflict
about unaccustomed
responsibilities

• Financial problems

• Loneliness as a result of
separation and pending loss

• Change in social customs