Intuitive Foundations of Conceptions of Vitality: The Case of Chinese Children’s Understanding of Illness Causation

Knowledge of how children come to understand the processes of causation, prevention, and treatment of illness is needed to help health professionals and educators in their work with children. Healthy children attending kindergarten through eighth grade were asked a series of standardized questions about illness, and their responses were scored on a scale corresponding to Piaget's theoretical framework of cognitive development. Children's responses varied widely at all ages, but there was a consistent systematic progression in their understanding of illness-related concepts with age. Kindergarten children typically understand illness causation as quite magical, and/or as the consequence of their transgression of rules. At fourth grade, children believe all illness to be caused by germs whose very presence is sufficient to make a child sick. The complexity of the mechanisms that must interrelate to cause illness is not understood until eighth grade at the earliest. At approximately 12 or 13 years of age children begin to understand that there are multiple causes of illness, that the body may respond variably to any or a combination of agents, and that host factors interact with the agent to cause and cure illness. This sequence in the development of understanding about illness parallels conceptual development in other content areas such as physical causality, although it seems to lag a bit. The delineation of the concepts typical of children at each developmental stage, as provided in this paper, will help to guide educational efforts and future research.

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Illness Causation and Interpretation in a Newar Town

Dhaulagiri Journal of Sociology and Anthropology ◽

10.3126/dsaj.v5i0.6358 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 5 ◽

pp. 101-120 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Madhusudan Subedi

Keyword(s):

Medical Anthropology ◽

Social Groups ◽

The Elderly ◽

Cultural Aspects ◽

The Core ◽

Males And Females ◽

The Individual ◽

Understanding Of Illness ◽

Different Cultures ◽

Illness Causation

One of the core concerns of medical anthropology is to explore how people in different cultures and social groups explain the causes of ill health, the type of treatment they believe in, and to whom they turn if they do become ill. This article focuses on the understanding of illness causation by the Newars in Kirtipur and their concern about biological and socio-cultural aspects of healthy behavior, and particularly with the ways in which they have been coping in everyday life. The basic method of data collection for this study was formal and informal discussions with the elderly Newar males and females, followed by discussions with youths to explore the variations in their perceptions. The findings show that the understanding of illness etiology is multi-causal. The individual, natural, social, and supernatural causes are not mutually exclusive but are usually linked together in a particular case. In any specific case of illness, moreover, people’s explanatory model varies in how they explain its etiology.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/dsaj.v5i0.6358 Dhaulagiri Journal of Sociology and Anthropology Vol. 5, 2011: 101-120

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Sleep Impairment

Guides Newsletter ◽

10.1001/amaguidesnewsletters.2009.mayjun04 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 14 (3) ◽

pp. 7-10

Author(s):

Craig Uejo ◽

Stephen Demeter

Keyword(s):

Rotator Cuff ◽

Distal Clavicle ◽

Rotator Cuff Disease ◽

Degenerative Arthritis ◽

Sixth Edition ◽

Cuff Tear ◽

Shoulder Region ◽

Illness Causation ◽

Traumatic Rotator Cuff Tear ◽

Distal Clavicle Resection

Abstract In the AMAGuides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides), Sixth Edition, distal clavicle resection (resection arthroplasty of the acromioclavicular joint [ACJ]) results in ratable impairment, but only a single diagnosis within a region may be rated. Therefore, if another impairing condition is present in the shoulder region (eg, impingement syndrome or rotator cuff disease) only that resulting in the greatest causally related impairment is rated. In the setting of an occupational or other compensable injury or illness, causation of the impairment often is a key issue because, typically, only impairment that is causally related to the injury can be rated. For example, assume that a lifting injury at work caused a tear in a rotator cuff tendon that was already attenuated by repetitive impingement on inferiorly projecting spurs from longstanding degenerative arthritis of the ACJ. If surgery was performed for a traumatic rotator cuff tear and the distal clavicle also was resected due to preexisting ACJ arthritis, the latter surgery is not considered to be related to the injury. In other words, because the ACJ arthritis was neither caused nor worsened by the injury, this condition is not rated. The distal clavicular resection may have been warranted to diminish pain due to ACJ arthritis and/or eliminate the distal clavicle as a source of impingement.

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Case Exercise: Toxic Exposure-Related Illness: Causation, Diagnosis, and Permanent Impairment

Guides Newsletter ◽

10.1001/amaguidesnewsletters.2007.marapr02 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 4-8

Author(s):

Frederick Fung

Keyword(s):

Concentration Level ◽

Treatment Plan ◽

Toxic Exposure ◽

Dose Response Relationship ◽

Specialty Board ◽

History Of ◽

Subjective Complaints ◽

Based Medicine ◽

Illness Causation ◽

Rule Out

Abstract A diagnosis of toxic-related injury/illness requires a consideration of the illness related to the toxic exposure, including diagnosis, causation, and permanent impairment; these are best performed by a physician who is certified by a specialty board certified by the American Board of Preventive Medicine. The patient must have a history of symptoms consistent with the exposure and disease at issue. In order to diagnose the presence of a specific disease, the examiner must find subjective complaints that are consistent with the objective findings, and both the subjective complaints and objective findings must be consistent with the disease that is postulated. Exposure to a specific potentially causative agent at a defined concentration level must be documented and must be sufficient to induce a particular pathology in order to establish a diagnosis. Differential diagnoses must be entertained in order to rule out other potential causes, including psychological etiology. Furthermore, the identified exposure at the defined concentration level must be capable of causing the diagnosis being postulated before the examiner can conclude that there has been a cause-and-effect relationship between the exposure and the disease (dose-response relationship). The evaluator's opinion should make biological and epidemiological sense. The treatment plan and prognosis should be consistent with evidence-based medicine, and the rating of impairment must be based on objective findings in involved systems.

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Integrating Palliative Care Assessment Tools to Enhance Understanding of Illness Trajectory in Post-Acute Care and Long-Term Care

American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine® ◽

10.1177/10499091211018193 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 104990912110181

Author(s):

Daphna Grossman ◽

Yona Grossman ◽

Ezra Nadler ◽

Mark Rootenberg ◽

Jurgis Karuza ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Acute Care ◽

Chart Review ◽

Assessment Tools ◽

Illness Trajectory ◽

Illness Burden ◽

Palliative Approach ◽

Interprofessional Care ◽

Care Assessment ◽

Understanding Of Illness ◽

Post Acute Care

Objectives: To determine whether education and integration of the Gold Standard Framework Proactive Identification Guidance (GSF-PIG) and the Palliative Performance Scale (PPS) into care rounds, in post-acute care settings, can facilitate communication between the interprofessional care team to enhance understanding of illness trajectories, identifying those who would benefit from a palliative approach to care. Methods: Interprofessional care teams received training on the GSF-PIG and PPS which were integrated into weekly care rounds and completed a post-evaluation survey. A chart review was conducted for the 40 patients and residents reviewed with the GSF-PIG and PPS. Data analysis included descriptive statistics and comparisons of characteristics between patients and residents who were grouped as positive or negative on the GFS-PIG surprise question using chi square analyzes and t-tests. Results: The GSF-PIG and PPS were found to enhance communication within care teams and enhance understanding of patient and resident’s illness burden. The chart review revealed that patients and residents whom the team would not be surprised if they died within 1 year were older (p = .002), had a lower PPS score (p = .002) and had more indicators of decline (p < .001) compared to patients and residents the team would be surprised if they died within the year. Conclusion: Training interprofessional care teams on the utilization and integration of the GSF-PIG and PPS during weekly care rounds helped increase the understanding of patient and resident illness burden and illness trajectory to identify those who may benefit from a palliative approach to care.

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Hysterical Seizures as a Manifestation of “Depression” in Old Age

The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1177/070674378503000413 ◽

1985 ◽

Vol 30 (4) ◽

pp. 278-280 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Kenneth I. Shulman ◽

Ivan L. Silver

Keyword(s):

Old Age ◽

Tricyclic Antidepressants ◽

Treatment Decisions ◽

Understanding Of Illness

A case of hysterical seizures is presented which is ultimately diagnosed as depression and treated successfully with tricyclic antidepressants. The need to re-examine our understanding of illness and the effect of classification on treatment decisions is emphasized.

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