Coping with Chronic Illness

The opening chapter Coping with Chronic Illness takes into account the impact of the diagnosis on the family, both at the time of the communication of the diagnosis, and in the moment of chronicity, the relationships and of the social context, the coping strategies and the representation of the disease. Pain management is a growing concern in pediatric cancer patients as pain can originate from multiple sources and negatively influence long-term children well-being. To gain a better understanding of the pain adjustment processes occurring in young patients, the authors analyze a cohort of 30 children and early adolescents with acute leukemia or lymphoma facing cancer-related pain, focusing on the various coping strategies at different stages of therapy Additionally, the authors discuss strategies for encouraging family coping efforts and resilience. Future research needs to continue to focus on helping children cope with stress and worry related to their conditions and medical procedures. Following this, the collection reviews and analyzes the relationship among sociodemographic and clinical variables, psychological morbidity, self-efficacy for coping, illness perceptions and QoL according to disease stages. The penultimate chapter describes the experience of "continuous" management of adult diabetes at the ASST Spedali Civili of Brescia. Clinical work has confirmed that an integrated approach focused on the recognition of emotions and relational support is a fundamental element in the management of chronicity. The concluding paper explores options for chronic illness management in aged care facilities while highlighting the need for more effective illness prevention and positive lifestyle management programmes in the earlier years of life.