Chronic Illness
Types
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Alzheimer’s disease
Cancer
Asthma
Arthritis
Diabetes
HIV - AIDS
Impact on the family
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Parents
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Siblings
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Shock, grief, anger
All emotional energy goes to the sick person
Little energy left for husband and rest of family
Sympathy and resentment
Relationships change
Identity as a family changes
Support groups
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Provide help for families
Alzheimer’s disease
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Increasing age = leading risk factor
Symptoms
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Memory loss
Paranoia
Sleep disturbances
Anger
Wandering off
Diabetes
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Lack of insulin to control blood sugar levels
Type 1 = Insulin-dependent diabetes
Type 2 = Non-insulin-dependent diabetes
Gestational diabetes
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Can complicate pregnancy
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Ends with childbirth
Diabetes
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Health psychology’s role can include:
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Helping diabetics understand their illness
Understand the effects of stress on blood glucose
metabolism
Understand how to manage diabetes
Researching and treating diabetes
Diabetes
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Health psychologists are most likely to help
patients by
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Improving their adherence to treatment regimen
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Checking blood sugar levels
Insulin injections
HIV - Human
Immunodeficiency virus
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Main risk groups in theU.S.
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Gay men
Injection drug users
HIV - Risk factors
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Anal sex = highest risk factor
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Heterosexual sex
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Homosexual & heterosexual sex
Women more at risk than men
leading source worldwide
1995 - 2005 = fastest growth in U.S.
Homosexual sex
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Male-male sexual contact =
 leading source of infection in U.S.
Lesbian transmission is low
Symptoms of HIV / AIDS
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First weeks
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Possibly no symptoms
Flu like symptoms
 Fever
 Sore throat
 Painful skin rash
 Headache
 Diarrhea
Latency (asymptomatic) period
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Longest period
 As long as 10 years or more
Infections related to AIDS
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Viral infections related to:
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Lungs
Gastrointestinal system
Nervous system
Liver
Bones
Brain
Pneumocystis cainii pneumonia (Dry cough)
Kapose’ sarcoma (Purplish bumps on skin)
AIDS-related dementia
Protecting yourself from AIDS
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Use condoms
No anal sex
Do not share needles
Psychologists’ role in the AIDS
epidemic
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Helping to change behaviors
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The major causes of infection are behavior related