QUALITY OF LIFE AND ADAPTATION TO EPILEPSY: A CONVERGENCE OF THEORIES
Abstract number :
1.328
Submission category :
Year :
2003
Submission ID :
591
Source :
www.aesnet.org
Presentation date :
12/6/2003 12:00:00 AM
Published date :
Dec 1, 2003, 06:00 AM
Authors :
Chase A. Allen, Malachy L. Bishop Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
Quality of life (QOL) has been proposed as an appropriately comprehensive and phenomenological model for the purpose of understanding the process of adaptation to epilepsy and other disabilities. This presentation presents some of the on-going research conducted to evaluate a model of adaptation involving the integration of the quality-of-life-related concepts of illness intrusiveness and response shift. Specifically, this model addresses the way that people experience or create an adaptive value shift with respect to QOL domains when domains are negatively affected, in order to maintain QOL. The research to date suggests that this is a potentially useful model for understanding the process of adapting to acquired disability and chronic illness, with implications for assessment and psychosocial treatment among persons with epilepsy.
This research involved the use of a survey questionnaire that included measures of quality of life, illness intrusiveness, and response shift. The questionnaire was administered to university students with disabilities. The results were analyzed in terms of the proposed model and associated theoretical tenets.
Preliminary results support the proposed model of adaptation, and suggest that people who are able to experience or create a value shift in terms of important QOL domains when domains are negatively impacted by a chronic illness or disability have higher ratings on existing measures of adaptation. These results will be discussed in terms of the implications for clinical assessment and psychosocial interventions with persons with epilepsy.
Adaptation to the impact of epilepsy or other chronic illnesses or conditions on a persons life remains a important but incompletely understood dynamic. This research addresses a number of unanswered questions about this process, and offers practical implications for health professionals. At the end of this activity, participants will have an understanding of this QOL-based model of adaptation to epilepsy and other disabilities, and be aware of the clinical implications of this research for assessment and treatment.
[Supported by: University of Kentucky Research Foundation]