Chronic illness and disability : an overview

Nurses, now and into the future, will be exposed to caring for people with a chronic disease and/or disability across a wide range of care settings. This exposure requires nurses to have knowledge of, and the skills in, the principles of nursing practice required to provide optimal care to a person and their family. It is also important that they understand what it means for the person and their family to live with a chronic disease and/or disability. It is from this understanding that the needs of the person and their family can be best met by the nurse and other health professionals. It is the intent of this book, therefore, to give equal emphasis to what it means to live with a chronic disease and/or disability as to gaining specific practice knowledge and skills. The construction of the chapters reflect this emphasis through the case studies presented, highlighting that the person and their family are central to the nurse’s understanding of their needs, as they commence on this life altering journey. What follows in Chapter 1 is an overview of the global context of chronic disease and disability followed by information specific to the Australian and New Zealand contexts.