The Impact Of Chronic Diseases On Patients Also Depends On Their Perception Of T

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The Impact Of Chronic Diseases On Patients Also Depends On Their Perception Of

The Disease

http://canalugr.es/health-science-and-technology/item/43999

Researchers at the University of Granada have developed a test to measure and

assess chronic patients' cognitive representation of their disease. This advance

will enable the development of clinical psychological treatments much more

efficient than those currently employed.

What do we mean by " common sense " when we talk about a disease? What affects the

ideas and beliefs that patients have of their disease? Researchers at the

University of Granada have developed a test for measuring and assessing chronic

patients' cognitive representation of their disease. This advance will enable

the development of clinical psychological treatments much more efficient than

those currently employed.

The cognitive representation of a disease is the ideas and beliefs that patients

have in relation to their condition, at a given time. These ideas are based

around five aspects: symptoms, causes, impact of the disease on patients' lives,

way and measures for controlling the condition, time-line and progression of the

disease.

Cognitive representation is said to be based on " common sense " , since patients

are not experts and their ideas and perception of their disease are based on

their own experience, self-knowledge and other sources (social, family

environment, health center, etc). The researchers state that " the idea that

patients have of their disease affects their own coping and adaptation to it " .

This study was conducted by Macarena De los Santos Roig, at the department of

Social Psychology and Methodology of Behavioral Sciences of the University of

Granada, and led by professor Cristino Pérez Meléndez.

155 Patients

To carry out this study, the researchers used a sample of 155 patients with

diabetes Type 1, treated at the Department of Endocronology of the University

Hospital San Cecilio, Granada. Patients were given different tests and, although

the study centered on patients with diabetes, this test is intended to be

applicable to any patient with a chronic disease.

The study revealed that the profile of diabetic patients reporting many

symptoms, with the perception of their disease having heavy impact on their

lives, low perceived controllability, and a chronic course present significantly

worse physical, psychological and social functioning, as well as a poor mental

health, lower vitality and worse overall (physical) health, than those who

represent their disease differently.

Conversely, patients face their disease more actively, (they seek social

support, apply behavioral coping and express their emotions), when they perceive

that their disease has significant impact on their lives, but some control is

observed. Such results confirm the reliability of the scores obtained on the

scale developed in this study. Thus, its effectiveness is demonstrated.

Although other similar assessment tools already existed in other countries, they

had been deficiently translated (not adapted, and presenting some deficiencies)

into Spanish by national researchers. Consequently, the tool developed by the

University of Granada is the most complete and reliable of all existing

assessment tools.