Self-care and multiple sclerosis: A view from two cultures

Judith McLaughlin and Ib Zeeberg

Social Science & Medicine, 1993, vol. 37, issue 3, 315-329

Abstract: The role of self-care in the management of chronic illnesses is essential to successful patient care. This paper compares and contrasts self-initiated self-care practices of 51 Danish and 35 American persons with multiple sclerosis at various levels of disability. Respondents were asked about ways they managed their symptoms and problems during periods of non-medical contact--including methods of following the medical regimen; alternative treatments; use of lay-referral systems; and, sources of information regarding physical, psychological, social, and environmental dimensions of coping with the illness. The two groups of respondents varied regarding adaptation strategies and primary sources of information used. The ultimate aim, however, of using these strategies was similar; to gain control over uncertainty, dependency, and physical and emotional decline. This study suggests that the empowering role of self-initiated self-care strategies in chronic illness may transcend differences in health care systems.

Keywords: self-care; multiple; sclerosis; adaptation; disability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1993
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0277-9536(93)90263-4
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:socmed:v:37:y:1993:i:3:p:315-329

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/supportfaq.cws_home/regional
http://www.elsevier. ... _01_ooc_1&version=01

Access Statistics for this article

Social Science & Medicine is currently edited by Ichiro (I.) Kawachi and S.V. (S.V.) Subramanian

More articles in Social Science & Medicine from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().