Evaluation of acceptance of chronic disease: a need of health professionals
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abstract
Acceptance means recognizing and understanding
the limitations and losses caused by the disease, being instrumental
in the adaptation of the individual to the disease.
Objectives: In this study we analyze the acceptance of the disease,
translated by some type of disability in individuals with chronic
disease.
Methods: This is a quantitative descriptive and explanatory study in
210 patients on hemodialysis and 53 diabetic patients, in Portugal. The
acceptance was evaluated using the Acceptance of Illness Scale (AIS),
(Felton, 1984), with only eight items and which directly focuses on the
extent of acceptance of the disease, and analyzed their reliability.
Results: The AIS is a scale to measure reliably the acceptance of
the disease because it has good internal consistency (Cronbach’s
a = 0.794). In descriptive statistics obtained for the behavior
of the two samples, we find that the minimum and maximum
values observed (10-40) are within the expected range (8-40). We
observed no statistically significant differences in outcomes for
the two groups analyzed. The hemodialysis and diabetic sample
exhibit moderate levels of acceptance of the disease, respectively
on average, 22.76/26.93.
Conclusions: Regardless of the disease and the impact of your
treatment, your acceptance is crucial in the adaptation process,
by which healthcare professionals should consider as a positive
variable, it is important to review the chronically ill.
