Phenomenography is a qualitative research approach developed within an educational framework, focusing on the qualitative experience of learning. It is also being used, to a lesser degree, in healthcare research. In the present study, we conducted a meta-ethnographic synthesis of phenomenographic studies on chronic illness, in order to give a broader perspective of how chronic illness can be ex...

OBJECTIVES To report a qualitative study of themes doctors raised spontaneously, in a large-scale prospective cohort study covering many aspects of their medical careers, when referring to their own chronic illness or disability. DESIGN Questionnaire survey. SETTING UK. PARTICIPANTS Questionnaires were sent one, five and 10 years after graduation to 44,539 doctors who qualified between 19...

Illness course separates patients with atypical depression into tricyclic responders and nonresponders as does perceptual asymmetry. The authors therefore investigated whether the course-of-illness parameters would define groups within atypical depression differing in brain laterality. Patients with atypical depression were assessed for illness course and brain laterality. Two patient groups we...

OBJECTIVE To examine the relationship of psychosocial stress and attitude toward illness to psychological adjustment among youth with chronic arthritis. METHODS Seventy-five youths with chronic arthritis aged 8-18 years were administered a semi-structured interview assessing illness-related and nonillness-related stressors in important life domains. Children also completed measures of attitud...

INTRODUCTION Chronic illnesses are marked by fluctuations and variations over time. Individuals with chronic illness experience pain and other symptoms that are not always adequately managed. Their caregivers often have to deal with enormous burden as the illness progresses. Palliative care can serve as an intervention to manage chronic illness, not just at the end of life but also in the early...

BACKGROUND Physical and emotional abuse of children is a large scale problem in South Africa, with severe negative outcomes for survivors. Although chronic household illness has shown to be a predictor for physical and emotional abuse, no research has thus far investigated the different pathways from household chronic illness to child abuse victimisation in South Africa. METHODS Confidential ...

OBJECTIVE Although gratitude has been identified as a key clinically relevant trait for improving well-being, it is understudied within medical populations. The current study addressed this gap and extended previous and limited cross-sectional research by examining the longitudinal associations of gratitude to depression in 2 chronic illness samples, arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease (IB...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS To explore the association between chronic cannabis abuse and a cyclical vomiting illness that presented in a series of cases in South Australia. METHODS Nineteen patients were identified with chronic cannabis abuse and a cyclical vomiting illness. For legal and ethical reasons, all patients were counselled to cease all cannabis abuse. Follow up was provided with serial ur...

BACKGROUND Detection of depression can be difficult in primary care, particularly when associated with chronic illness. Patient beliefs may affect detection and subsequent engagement with management. We explored patient beliefs about the nature of depression associated with physical illness. METHODS A qualitative interview study of patients registered with general practices in Leeds, UK. We i...