Living with Chronic Illness: Ambrosio et al. (2015) Concept Analysis

Vocabulary flashcards covering the concepts, attributes, ways of living, antecedents, consequences, and clinical case applications from Ambrosio et al. (2015) and related lecture notes.

Living with chronic illness (Ambrosio et al., 2015 definition)

A complex, dynamic, cyclic, multidimensional process, rather than a single outcome or a synonym for adherence.

Rodgers' evolutionary concept analysis

The research methodology used by Ambrosio et al. (2015), consisting of a narrative review of 36 articles on adults with physical chronic illnesses to clarify the concept of living with chronic illness.

Acceptance

Awareness and readiness to acknowledge illness and make room for change; viewed by Ambrosio et al. as central to positive living rather than simply receiving a diagnosis.

Coping

Cognitive and emotional efforts to tolerate or manage demands, encompassing both emotion-focused and problem-focused responses.

Self-management

Learning, making informed decisions, planning, and practising actions for physical, emotional, and everyday life.

Integration

Reorganizing routines and establishing a workable new normal so that chronic illness can coexist with life.

Adjustment

Reconstructing identity and the relationship between self and illness toward positive living.

Disavowal

A way of living in which illness is not accepted, control and balance are minimal, and distress and frustration may persist.

False normality

A way of living where practical management or other attributes are present without acceptance, allowing life to appear normal while balance remains vulnerable or partial.

The new normal

A way of living where acceptance and other essential attributes support meaning, control, balance, and adjustment, without guaranteeing cure or disease control.

Disruption

A temporary, recurrent loss of balance triggered by symptom changes, disease progression, or life events, where reworking acceptance can lead back to another way of living.

Robinson's Healing Process of Moving On

A separate framework asking how families come to live and manage well together, structured around five interconnected phases and family illness burden.

Antecedents of living with chronic illness

Facilitating factors identified by Ambrosio et al., including awareness of change, personal networks, information and education, personal conditions and resources, and attitude toward life.

Consequences of living with chronic illness

Conceptual outcomes such as varying levels of control, mastery, normality, balance, quality of life, and well-being, which are not interchangeable with laboratory values or symptom absence.

Relational inquiry (in chronic illness care)

A nursing approach that examines intrapersonal meaning and identity, interpersonal support or obstruction, and contextual factors like finances and work before attributing difficulties to deficient acceptance.

Case TK (Lecture application)

A case example illustrating disavowal, in which an individual downplays diabetes and avoids follow-up until symptoms emerge.

Case JB (Lecture application)

A case example illustrating false normality, in which an individual pushes through rheumatoid arthritis symptoms to protect a hardworking identity.

Case EC (Lecture application)

A case example illustrating the new normal, where work and daily activities are reorganized and adapted following multiple sclerosis (MS) relapses.

Case LH (Lecture application)

A case example illustrating disruption, in which relationship loss and financial stress derail an established chronic kidney disease (CKD) routine, resulting in missed dialysis.