Illness perception amongst adults with multimorbidity at primary care clinics in Southwest Nigeria

Cognitive and Emotional Perceptions of Illness in Patients Diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) affects a patient's physical, social, and mental well-being. Perceptions of the illness are linked to quality of life. The aim of this study was to assess illness perception in patients diagnosed with T2DM and to validate the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire in the Slovenian language. A cross-sectional study involved 141 patients diagnosed with T2DM. We performed a content analysis of the questionnaire and estimated the S-CVI, I-CVI, kappa coefficient. We also used Cronbach's alpha to assess the reliability. Participants did not have a very threatening perception of T2DM, but being overweight and having cardiovascular disease were significant contributors to a more threatening perception. The most frequently indicated factors influencing the onset and development of T2DM were heredity and genetics, stress and other psychological distress, and poor and inadequate nutrition. I-CVI ranged from 0.833 to 1.00, while the kappa is greater than 0.74, confirming the excellent validity of the questions. The content validity assessment of the questionnaire further confirms that the questionnaire is suitable for use with the target population in Slovenia. The questionnaire proved to be a valid and reliable tool that can be used to assess the relationship between illness perception and self-management of T2DM.

Exploring illness perceptions of multimorbidity among community-dwelling older adults: a mixed methods study

Background

Illness perceptions are individual beliefs or experiences about the nature and treatment of their illness. Although extensive research exists about illness perceptions, little is known about illness perceptions of multimorbidity.

Methods

The purpose of this parallel-convergent mixed-methods study was to comprehensively explore illness perception of multimorbidity among community dwelling older adults. Data was collected using one-on-one semi-structured interviews (n=17) and the Multimorbidity Illness Perception Scale (MULTIPleS) (n=116). Qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis while quantitative data were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics. Both qualitative and quantitative findings were integrated to identify differences in illness perceptions of multimorbidity by participant's socio-demographic and illness-related characteristics.

Results

Overall, participants were mostly female (71%), self-reported as Hispanic (35%), Black (33%), White (27%), or Asian (5%). From the content analysis of the qualitative data, we described three themes pertaining to Illness perception of multimorbidity which were influenced by both participants' socio-demographic and illness-related characteristics: (1) inter-relationships between conditions (2) consequences and priorities and (3) impact of multimorbidity on wellbeing. While inferential analysis of quantitative data indicated statistically significant differences across only socio-demographic characteristics such as race/ethnicity (causal links, prioritization, summary scale) and educational attainment (prioritization subscale). Mixed analysis of qualitative and quantitative findings confirmed that illness perception of multimorbidity may not differ by the number of chronic conditions.

Conclusions

Illness perception of multimorbidity may not differ by the number of chronic conditions the participants had. Rather, participants prioritized the impact of multimorbidity on their overall wellbeing, placing less importance on the number of their chronic conditions. Additional studies are needed to further characterize illness perceptions of multimorbidity and develop interventions that extend beyond disease-focused interventions to address holistic needs of older adults with multimorbidity.

Self-assessment of the health status and leisure activities of individuals on haemodialysis

Self-assessment of health status is an important marker of social and health aspects. Haemodialysis is an option for renal replacement therapy that alters daily life and impacts social participation and the performance of tasks that give the subject a socially accepted role. In this scenario, leisure activities have the potential to generate well-being and are associated with several aspects of daily life, but few studies have analysed their relationship with the self-assessment of health status. This is a cross-sectional, census study with 1024 individuals from haemodialysis units of a Southeast Brazilian region, with the application of a questionnaire in 2019. We calculated the difference between the proportions of self-assessment of health status (positive and negative) and the two logistic regression models. The chances of individuals on haemodialysis negatively evaluating their health increase when they do not perform artistic leisure activities (OR 2.15; 95% CI 1.35-3.43), physical and sports activities (OR 3.20; 95% CI 1.86-5.52), intellectual (OR 2.21; 95% CI 1.44-3.41), manuals (OR 1.82; 95% CI 1.22-2.72), social (OR 2.74; 95% CI 1.74-4.31), tourist (OR 2.08; 95% CI 1.37-3.17) and idleness and contemplative (OR 1.92; 95% CI 1.29-2.85). Negative health self-assessment is associated with not practicing artistic, manual, physical and sporting, social, intellectual, tourist, and contemplative leisure activities, which have the function of providing social participation and giving meaning to life.