Abstract
The chapter aims to examine the adaptation to the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic process of adults previously diagnosed with a chronic illness. Chronic illnesses negatively affect a person's psychosocial functioning as well as their physical health. When the COVID-19 pandemic entered people's lives, a higher risk was expected for individuals with chronic illnesses. Several studies were conducted to understand their COVID-19 adaptation process and psychosocial consequences. Studies revealed high levels of depressive and anxious symptoms as well as non-compliance, fear of COVID-19, isolation, and loneliness. From another viewpoint, individuals with chronic illnesses were also able to cope with COVID-19-related stressors and some of them experienced better well-being outcomes. Online and telehealth interventions were offered for people in need of psychosocial support. The pandemic experience helped people develop an understanding of the management of health threats and a multidimensional perspective toward health.
TopPsychosocial Aspects Of Adult Chronic Illnesses
Researchers examined the predictors of psychological distress for people diagnosed with various chronic illnesses. Various patterns of results were revealed for different illness perceptions depending on the illness characteristics, such as the level of disability, life-threatening nature of the illness, visibility of the symptoms, complexity and side effects of the treatment, needs for assistance in living, and levels of pain (Levendthal et al., 1992). Moreover, it is usually a dynamic process including the interactions between medical, psychological, and coping aspects (Livneh, 2021). Brief information is presented below for psychosocial aspects of chronic diseases, such as asthma, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and diabetes.
Studies particularly focused on the levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms as the outcome variables. Depression and anxiety disorders are the most common psychological disorders (Kring & Johnson, 2017). Symptoms associated with these disorders are even more common among individuals with chronic illnesses. For example, anxiety symptoms and anxiety disorder diagnoses are more prevalent among people with asthma as compared to non-asthma controls (Ye et al., 2021; Tany & Saha, 2017). Similarly, high levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms were found among people with chronic respiratory disease (Zhou et al., 2017). Sleep problems, limitation of physical activity, and negative life events were revealed as the predictors of these increased levels of psychological symptoms (Zhou et al., 2017). Furthermore, when the patients perceived low control over their illness, they had more panic symptoms (Hallas et al., 2012).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Adherence: Compliance with medical recommendations.
Adaptation to Chronic Illness: Making necessary changes to adjust the chronic illness.
Proactive Coping: Preparation for coping with an anticipated stress.
Chronic Illness: A long period of time dealing with a health problem.
Intervention: A structured program to help people with specific problems.