Patient Work: The Work Patients Do To Manage A Chronic Illness and How Nurses Can Be Helpful

The purpose of this study was to identify the duties, tasks, knowledge, skills, abilities, and resources needed for patients to manage chronic illness.
According to patients, managing a chronic illness feels like work. This study looks at managing a chronic illness in an innovative way combining both a human resource and nursing lens. When a job analysis is performed people who perform the job are asked to describe the activities they perform and the resources that are needed to perform those activities.
Nominal group technique was used to collect focus group data about activities patients with chronic illness do to manage their health and healthcare. Three focus groups with 9-11 participants, from across the U.S., were conducted in person or via Zoom.
The job of a patient includes five duties: self-care, relationship management, resource management, coordination, and research/education.
Providers focus on helping patients through symptom monitoring and management, lifestyle changes,and treatment/medication adherence. Without considering the holistic patient perspective of patient work the success of self-management interventions is limited. Addressing and helping to resource the patient work involved in managing a chronic illness can potentially reduce the burden of managing illness(es), increase self-management behaviors, and improve patient quality of life.

Patient Work: The Work Patients Do To Manage A Chronic Illness and How Nurses Can Be Helpful Presentation