Asthma Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Asthma, including details on symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, causes, medications.

Differences in illness representation among pulmonary patients and their providers.

Insel KC, Meek PM, Leventhal H

College of Nursing, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721-0203, USA. insel@nursing.arizona.edu

This investigation examined how patient and provider groups represent 11 descriptors (concepts) of breathing and breathlessness. Two patient groups, those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and those with asthma, and two provider groups, pulmonologists and nurse specialists (PNS), rated the dissimilarity between each of 55 pairs of concepts on visual analogue scales (VAS). The results demonstrate differences between the groups in illness representation. The findings have implications for understanding differences in illness representation between patient groups and providers.

Published 3 December 2004 in J Health Psychol, 10(1): 147-62.
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