Illness Perceptions and Disability Levels among Older Adults with Chronic Illness

The world's population is ageing rapidly. Between 2000 and 2050, the proportion of the world's older adults is estimated to double from about 11% to 22%. In absolute terms, this is an expected increase from 605 million to 2 billion people over the age of 60. Older adults can encounter some specific physical and mental health drawbacks that require being treated efficiently (1). In Alge-ria, approximately 15% of adults aged 60 and over suffer from one chronic condition at least (2). Chronic illnesses have a major impact on the physical, psychological, and social functioning of the elderly. These illnesses often are accompanied by chronic conditions such as pain, disability, and functional limitations that contribute to poor health-related quality of life (HRQOL) (3); a condition which may be influenced by illness perception which is: The manner that an individual identifies and understands one's disease. Emotional state seems to make a difference with positive mood and disposition associated with slower declines in health and harmful attitudes and beliefs related to poor physical and mental outcomes (4). The Illness Perception Model (IPM) states that there exists a close relationship between perceived illness/treatment and quality of life. The main suggestions of IPM consist in the impact of illness representations on HRQOL thanks to the chronic illness self-management (5). The IPM has been extended to delineate the influence of illness perceptions and health status on performance level such as disability levels. Additionally , it has been suggested that the IPM holds promise for understanding health care in older adults with chronic illness. In this study we administered nine subscales (Ill-and Causal Attributions) of the Illness Perception Questionnaire— Revised (IPQ-R). Multivariable linear regression analyses explored the associations between illness perception dimensions and HRQOL(Physical Functioning, Role Physical, Vitality , General Health and Social Functioning), as measured by SF36v2. A sample of 76 respondents (39.47% women; mean age, 64.53±6.93 years) with chronic illness living in the region of Banta (Algeria) has been adopted in this study. The characteristics of the four illness groups are presented in Table 1. This study has provided insights about the relationship between illness perception and HRQOL. Therefore, it has proved that there is an association with causal attributions, illness identity, illness coherence, treatment control and HRQOL. Elders suffering from chronic illness show a significant assimilation of their disease, perceive the critical illness consequences, and are convinced about the link between the illness coherence …