To test an attribution-emotion model of reactions to chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis, 30 significant others of 30 adult patients with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis were administered a semi-structured interview about their beliefs regarding the patient's illness and completed questionnaire measures of distress and behavioural responses to the patient. Spon...

This article discusses the impact of social representations of ageing, such as breakdown, inevitability of illnesses and unfitness, on chronic illness experience of elderly people in Latvia. The qualitative study is based on theoretical framework of symbolic interactionism and uses grounded theory methodology. The results of the study lead to the conclusion that in Latvia certain social represe...

OBJECTIVE To describe the educational, social, and symptomatic outcome of children and adolescents with chronic fatigue syndrome 13 years after illness onset. METHODS Between January 1984 and December 1987, 46 children and adolescents developed an illness suggestive of chronic fatigue syndrome. Follow-up questionnaires were obtained from 35 participants an average of 13 years after illness on...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES This retrospective study was designed to determine the capacity of a 6-week distributed Family Medicine Clerkship to provide student documented patient encounters that could facilitate instructions on the acute illness and chronic disease components of the new Family Medicine Clerkship Curriculum (FMCC). The FMCC was developed to standardize core clinical education exp...

The aims of this study were 1) to explore the degree of concordance/discordance between the illness perceptions of patients with a chronic illness and those of their partners, and 2) to examine the relationship between the concordance/discordance of couples' illness perceptions and social support exchange processes. In a cross-sectional study, 119 chronic patients and their partners completed q...

The neighbourhood may provide resources for health. It is to date unknown whether people who live in neighbourhoods with more social capital have more access to practical and emotional support by neighbours, or whether this is a resource only available to those who are personally connected to people in their neighbourhood. We investigated whether support by neighbours of people with chronic ill...

CONTEXT Chronic fatigue syndrome is a disabling problem characterized by persistent fatigue lasting at least 6 months with a number of ancillary symptoms. Although the etiology of chronic fatiguing illness is unknown, some evidence suggests that stress may confer increased risk for development of the disorder. Moreover, subjects with chronic fatiguing illness may have distinctive personality tr...

Patients with chronic respiratory disease commonly experience comorbid mental illness. This study aimed to explore associations between illness and health, as well determine access uptake of health treatment. Mental conditions were highly prevalent, long-standing associated worse outcomes. Active treatment psychotropic drugs was common; however, acceptance non-pharmacological interventions poor...