Download Chronic Illness

Chronic Illness
Types






Alzheimer’s disease
Cancer
Asthma
Arthritis
Diabetes
HIV - AIDS
Impact on the family

Parents




Siblings



Shock, grief, anger
All emotional energy goes to the sick person
Little energy left for husband and rest of family
Sympathy and resentment
Relationships change
Identity as a family changes
Support groups

Provide help for families
Alzheimer’s disease


Increasing age = leading risk factor
Symptoms





Memory loss
Paranoia
Sleep disturbances
Anger
Wandering off
Diabetes




Lack of insulin to control blood sugar levels
Type 1 = Insulin-dependent diabetes
Type 2 = Non-insulin-dependent diabetes
Gestational diabetes

Can complicate pregnancy

Ends with childbirth
Diabetes

Health psychology’s role can include:




Helping diabetics understand their illness
Understand the effects of stress on blood glucose
metabolism
Understand how to manage diabetes
Researching and treating diabetes
Diabetes

Health psychologists are most likely to help
patients by

Improving their adherence to treatment regimen


Checking blood sugar levels
Insulin injections
HIV - Human
Immunodeficiency virus

Main risk groups in theU.S.


Gay men
Injection drug users
HIV - Risk factors

Anal sex = highest risk factor


Heterosexual sex




Homosexual & heterosexual sex
Women more at risk than men
leading source worldwide
1995 - 2005 = fastest growth in U.S.
Homosexual sex


Male-male sexual contact =
 leading source of infection in U.S.
Lesbian transmission is low
Symptoms of HIV / AIDS

First weeks



Possibly no symptoms
Flu like symptoms
 Fever
 Sore throat
 Painful skin rash
 Headache
 Diarrhea
Latency (asymptomatic) period

Longest period
 As long as 10 years or more
Infections related to AIDS

Viral infections related to:









Lungs
Gastrointestinal system
Nervous system
Liver
Bones
Brain
Pneumocystis cainii pneumonia (Dry cough)
Kapose’ sarcoma (Purplish bumps on skin)
AIDS-related dementia
Protecting yourself from AIDS



Use condoms
No anal sex
Do not share needles
Psychologists’ role in the AIDS
epidemic

Helping to change behaviors

The major causes of infection are behavior related