Poster Presentations

Session Title: Poster Session 1
Category: Psychosocial determinants of self-management
Presentation Date: Friday, November 07, 2008

FACTORS INFLUENCING HEALTH PROMOTION IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC ILLNESS: A QUALITATIVE STUDY

N. Fouladi¹, H. Alimohammadi², E. Mazaheri^1
1Ardebil University of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Ardebil, Iran, Islamic Republic of, ²Ardebil University of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Ardebil, Iran, Islamic Republic of

Purpose of the study: Chronic illnesses are by definition long lasting and without a definitive cure. In Iran, like many other developing countries, chronic diseases are not merely diseases of the elderly. They also affect a much higher proportion of people during their prime working years and more so than in the developed countries.
Therefore, it is essential to understand the factors influencing the health promotion of patients who suffer from chronic illnesses in order to be able to advance a sense of wellbeing amongst this patient group.
Methods: A content analysis with a qualitative approach was conducted and 35 patients with chronic illness were interviewed.
Results: Six main themes emerged from the collected data, all of which affected the health promotion in patients.
Conclusion: A positive interaction of the aforementioned factors can lead to a better health attainment whilst a negative effect may result if these factors operate in the opposite direction.
Keywords: Chronic illness, health promotion