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DIFFERENCES IN ILLNESS REPRESENTATIONS IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE
Author(s) -
Pagels Agneta A.,
Söderquist Birgitta Klang,
Heiwe Susanne
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of renal care
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.381
H-Index - 27
eISSN - 1755-6686
pISSN - 1755-6678
DOI - 10.1111/jorc.12117
Subject(s) - attribution , medicine , blame , disease , kidney disease , cognition , perception , affect (linguistics) , severity of illness , clinical psychology , psychiatry , psychology , social psychology , communication , neuroscience
SUMMARY Objective To explore the impact of chronic kidney disease (CKD) on individual illness representations, including symptoms and causal attributions. Design and measures Fifty‐four patients responded to the Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ‐R) and a further seven patients undertook cognitive interviews regarding the IPQ‐R. All respondents had CKD stage 2–5, not undergoing renal replacement therapy. Results Those in earlier CKD stages and those with fewer symptoms perceived a significantly different understanding of their condition than those in more advanced disease stages or with more symptoms. Behavioural and psychological attributions were commonly referred to as contributing causes to CKD. These attributions were associated to negative illness representations. An uncertainty assessing symptoms attributed to CKD was indicated, especially in earlier disease stages. Conclusion Illness representations differ with CKD stages and symptom burden. The patients in earlier disease stages or with fewer symptoms did not hold as strong beliefs about their illness as being a threat as those in advanced stages or with more symptoms. Self‐blame emerged as a common causal attribution. Patients did not always relate symptoms to CKD, therefore this study identifies a gap in patients’ disease knowledge, especially in earlier stages of the condition.