Management of chronic diseases has expanded into a distinct discipline which forms an important component of public health care. A Chronic disease can be defined as a human health condition that is long-lasting or recurrent in its adverse health effects on an individual for a period of three months or more. Being associated with high mortality, high hospitalization rates, and poor quality of life, chronic conditions form a major and growing public health problem worldwide.
Where the physical symptoms of chronic diseases are typically easier to identify, it is paramount to also recognize and address the more inconspicuous psychological symptoms that sufferers might experience. The likelihood of chronic disease sufferers experiencing devastating psychological effects is high; these include depression, anxiety, loneliness, changes in self-esteem and hopelessness, which can contribute to depriving them of a sense of control and empowerment over their condition, and even their lives. Similar experiences of these psychological effects have appeared amongst sufferers with different chronic conditions, and increasing knowledge has shown that similar and universal methods can be equally effective in treating different conditions. For these reasons, management of each chronic disease is no longer being considered in isolation.
One behavior that is important to promote, guide and improve existing management of chronic disease in public health systems and in the wider context of sufferers of all chronic conditions, is self-care or self-management. Self-care or self-management are defined as a naturalistic decision-making process involving the choice of behaviors that maintain physiologic stability, the response to symptoms when they occur, and the ability to follow the treatment regimen and control symptoms. Further promotion and advancements to methods that address improving and promoting self-care education could achieve more effective management in public health systems and amongst sufferers, reduce the psychological impact on sufferers and help them to increase empowerment over their conditions. Therefore, this Research Topic aims to promote a universal approach in public health systems that focuses on improving and promoting education in self-care amongst sufferers of all chronic diseases, which could subsequently contribute to them leading and living more empowered lives.
This Research Topic welcomes topics including, but not limited to:
-Innovative research that focuses on developments in self-care or self-management methods for chronic disease;
-Research that focuses on improvements to existing self-care or self-management methods of chronic disease;
-Evaluation of current methods/approaches employed by public health systems to manage chronic disease;
-Research that recognizes and addresses the importance of increasing empowerment amongst chronic disease sufferers;
-Research that focuses on addressing and managing the psychological effects of chronic disease.
Management of chronic diseases has expanded into a distinct discipline which forms an important component of public health care. A Chronic disease can be defined as a human health condition that is long-lasting or recurrent in its adverse health effects on an individual for a period of three months or more. Being associated with high mortality, high hospitalization rates, and poor quality of life, chronic conditions form a major and growing public health problem worldwide.
Where the physical symptoms of chronic diseases are typically easier to identify, it is paramount to also recognize and address the more inconspicuous psychological symptoms that sufferers might experience. The likelihood of chronic disease sufferers experiencing devastating psychological effects is high; these include depression, anxiety, loneliness, changes in self-esteem and hopelessness, which can contribute to depriving them of a sense of control and empowerment over their condition, and even their lives. Similar experiences of these psychological effects have appeared amongst sufferers with different chronic conditions, and increasing knowledge has shown that similar and universal methods can be equally effective in treating different conditions. For these reasons, management of each chronic disease is no longer being considered in isolation.
One behavior that is important to promote, guide and improve existing management of chronic disease in public health systems and in the wider context of sufferers of all chronic conditions, is self-care or self-management. Self-care or self-management are defined as a naturalistic decision-making process involving the choice of behaviors that maintain physiologic stability, the response to symptoms when they occur, and the ability to follow the treatment regimen and control symptoms. Further promotion and advancements to methods that address improving and promoting self-care education could achieve more effective management in public health systems and amongst sufferers, reduce the psychological impact on sufferers and help them to increase empowerment over their conditions. Therefore, this Research Topic aims to promote a universal approach in public health systems that focuses on improving and promoting education in self-care amongst sufferers of all chronic diseases, which could subsequently contribute to them leading and living more empowered lives.
This Research Topic welcomes topics including, but not limited to:
-Innovative research that focuses on developments in self-care or self-management methods for chronic disease;
-Research that focuses on improvements to existing self-care or self-management methods of chronic disease;
-Evaluation of current methods/approaches employed by public health systems to manage chronic disease;
-Research that recognizes and addresses the importance of increasing empowerment amongst chronic disease sufferers;
-Research that focuses on addressing and managing the psychological effects of chronic disease.
