Chronic Illness and Disability
Disability is a physical or mental condition that restricts a person’s ability to move, sense or undertake activities. Disabilities can arise following an impairment of an individual’s body structure for instance loss of memory or loss of a limb in an accident. Moreover, disability can be associated with birth defects which end up affect a person in later stages of life a good example is Down’s syndrome which develops as a result of chromosome abnormalities (Huether & McCance, 2016). .
Conversely, chronic illness refers to a disease that lasts for 3 or more months and cannot be prevented by vaccines nor cured by medication. These conditions can either be acquired or inherited. An example of a chronic illness that is inherited is diabetes type I whereas hypertension is a chronic illness that may develop as a result of one having sedentary lifestyle.
They cannot be used interchangeably. This is because disability is not an illness but a body condition that impairs the body activities, and which can be as a result of sickness or a person is born with. On the other hand, chronic illness refers to a disease which attacks a person at any stage in life although a person can be born with it.
The legal implications are; the right to access of information on how to manage their disabilities and the right to resources to help them manage their disability. The legal implications are; the right to access to resources to help them manage the chronic illness as well as the right to access information on how to manage the chronic illnesses.
The actions to be implemented by RN are; providing special requirements like special education needs they should also provide comprehensive treatment plan as well as monitor the progress of individuals with chronic illness.
Chronic disease is disease that persists over a long period of time. Chronic disease can hinder independence and the health of people with disabilities, as it may create additional activity limitations. People with chronic disease often think that they are free from the disease when they have no symptoms. Having no symptoms, however, does not necessarily mean that chronic disease has disappeared.
Reference
Huether, S., & McCance, K. (2016). Understanding pathophysiology (6th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.
