Co Morbidity, Chronicity And Complexity Concepts - 1938 Words

Co-morbidity, chronicity and complexity concepts. Chronicity is when an individual has a permanent disease or disability that involves the total human environment for supportive care and self-care, maintenance of function, prevention and further disability (Lubkin Larsen, 2009, p. 6) To be counted as a chronic condition the disease or disability must last longer than six months and have a noteworthy impact on the individual’s day to day life (Farrell Dempsey, 2014, p.203). This applies to Emily as she suffers from two permanent diseases that may potentially get worse but will not get better. Symptoms may be relived and they may exacerbate at times however the disease will always be present. When an individual, such as Emily, suffers from two or more chronic diseases it is known to be a co-morbidity. The amount of co-morbidity an individual has increases with age and if they live an active or sedentary lifestyle (Farrell Dempsey, 2014, p.203) It is important to be knowledgeable about a patients co-morbidities as they may interact with each other and affect how they are treated both pharmaceutically and through lifestyle options. The complexity of an illness can increase or decrease depending on the time required to evaluate and treat the condition. For Emily her conditions are complex as her Crohns Disease and Diabetes Mellitus can interact together, increasing the time taken to diagnose the conditions and increasing the time taken to treat the illness.