A CASE-STUDY OF ILLNESS BEHAVOUR AMONG CHINESE MALE CORONARY AND HYPERTENSIVE OUTPATIENTS IN MALAYSIA
| dc.contributor.author | HAJI ARSHAD, MOHD. BAKHORI | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2015-12-29T03:13:58Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2015-12-29T03:13:58Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 1983-01-20 | |
| dc.description.abstract | This thesis represents an attempt to study how pea~ resnond to and cope with a chronic illness. Two chronic dise~ Coronarjr Heart Dise2.:3e a.n(l Primary }ly~Jertension 9 were chosen :f study. ,-~uotc:~ samples of fifty coronary ru1d fiftJ hypertensivE male Chinese outpatients were selected from outpatients attend the polyclinics of the University Hospital in Kuala Lumpur. T findings are based on interviews ~ith respondents as well as specific case-studies. In the interviews with the respondents n structured interview questionnaire was used. The illness process w~s conceptu~lized as a series o: events that begins with the experience of initial symptoms. ~tlaTenesa of illness is transl~ted into efforts to seek medical care. A professional therapeutic programme and lay therapeutic me~sures ~re means of ~an~ging a chronic illness. The costs expended in the provision of modern medical c~re facilities need to be justified by the optimum use of such facilities. The study of two 2reas of the illness process, namely the seeking and continuity of medic~l c~re are considerec import~nt for an underst~nding of the selection ~nd utilization of medical care facilities. The initi2tion of treatment is to provide relief from the discomfort ~ssoci~ted with the symptoms of a disease. Therefore, the symptom experience of the respondents was also taken into consider~tion. xiv The findings showed th~t the decision to seek treat w~s rel~ted to the severity of the symptoms 2nd the lay etiologic~l me~nings th~t were 2ccorded to these symptoms. Symptoms that did not interfere with occupational and social nativities were not attcmded to. On the other h::cnd, cerL:'.in symptoms were so incapacitating thnt there was no hesitntion deciding to seek medical care. Symptoms thnt were defined in terms.of personal attributes like nge nnd obesity were nlso ignored. In addition~ it was also found that awareness of illness did not lend to the seeking of medical care when a mar urgent need had to be fulfilled. The selection of medical care was made from a vnriet; of sources. '.Jhether seJ.f .. medic~tion "'-'ยท'lB .:.ttemoted or efforts were made to secu~e the services of either the 1sinseh 1 , mediw or the western-trained doctor depended on several factors. Fo1 the majority of the respondents 1 the seeking of medical care wns ~n el~bor~te process of referral from one source to another The nssoci~tion of c~us~tion with nn appropriate form of treatment determined whether a particular illness condition deserved a modern or traditional treatment. There was eith~r delay in seeking treatment or resort to self-medication when symptoms were rationalized in terms of the work situation and sc habits. The findinss did not indicate any stntistically significant relationship between socinl class attributes and medical knowled~e. ~espondents acquired knowledge of illness through social interaction. The proven efficacy of a particular treatment and the outcome of an existing treatment also XV contributed to the referral process. Sources of medical care that were associated with convenience and efficiency were preferred to other sources. Family members and friends exerted an important influence on both the seeking and selection of medical care. The control of a chronic disease depends very mucn on adherence to a carefully drawn-up therapeutic programme. However, it was found that not every respondent was faithful to the various aspects of the programme. In addition, respondents also resorted to alternative forms of treatment. Fear of resusceptibility to further episodes of the disease compelled many respondents to comply to medical advice. On the other hand, those who did not recognise the severity and implications of their illness were less faithful to the therapeutic programme. Denial of illness was very much influenced by the apparent feeling of good health and the ability to continue with occupational and social activities. Rationalization promoted compliance to the therapeutic progr~m~c while lack of proper understanding of the programme, which can be attributed ~artly to the deficiencies of the doctor-patient relationshj.pt hindered compliance. In so far as the therapeutic programme was consonant with cultural beliefs, there was compliance. Some respondents were non-compliant because of problems associated with treatment The influence of family members was either a positive or negative factor in promoting compliance. Illness had also resulted a change of roles for some respondents. xvi Alternative ther2pcutic measures were adopted to eithe; modify or supplement the Hospitnl 1 s therapeutic 9rogr~mme. RefcrrRl was m~de to the isinseh 1 \Tith the intention of overcomi1 the side~effect8 of western medicine and to obtain a 9ermanent cure. Spiritu~l cures were attempted to offset the ill-effects of cert~in forces. Respondents ~lso ~aid for private bloodpressure readings at private clinics to obt~in further informatic about their illness and to assess the effects of some traditional remedy and non-compliance. The first chapter discusses the theoretic2l background to the study. The second chapter explains the methodology while an outline of the Chinese health belief ~nd practice systems are presented in the third chapter. The findings pert~ining to the seeking of medical care and 9 the ways of coping with a therapeutic programme and the effects of a chronic illness are presented and discussed in the fourth and fifth chapters respectively. The conclusions and theoreticnl implications are considered in the sixth 2nd final ch~oter. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/1358 | |
| dc.subject | A CASE-STUDY OF ILLNESS BEHAVOUR AMONG CHINESE MALE CORONARY | en_US |
| dc.title | A CASE-STUDY OF ILLNESS BEHAVOUR AMONG CHINESE MALE CORONARY AND HYPERTENSIVE OUTPATIENTS IN MALAYSIA | en_US |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_US |
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