My chronic illness is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

Instructions:

Choose a chronic illness that you will focus on for the duration of the semester. Please note that you should have received instructor approval by the end of Module 1.

This is the first of four assignments, which will cumulatively become an in-depth exploration of your chosen chronic condition.

In this first assignment, you will be providing an evidence-based overview of the condition from a biopsychosocial perspective.

The first section entails a short review of the literature. In this section you will:

Gather 5 credible sources on your chosen condition for your literature review. This must include at least 3 peer-reviewed articles from the Excelsior Libraries. You may also use your assigned readings, but please note that these will not count toward the 5 required sources.

Describe how the condition is defined from both the medical and patient perspectives. Talk about some of the physical (symptomologic) and emotional aspects of the condition that people live with.

Discuss the prevalence of the condition in the United States.

Describe some of the precipitating factors of the illness (personal, genetic, environmental, etc).

Discuss what groups are more vulnerable to developing this condition (example: certain ethnic groups are more vulnerable to developing sickle-cell anemia).

Choose a theoretical framework that describes the experiences of people living with this condition and that might guide a person-centered intervention. You may use any of the theories covered in your text or bring in one that you have found successfully applied in the literature. Discuss its applicability for various groups (age, gender, race/ethnicity, faith base, cognitive function, etc.) Be sure to justify your choice of theory.

Your paper should be 3-4 pages double spaced. All references and citations must be in APA 6 format. Be sure to organize your paper in paragraphs, to spell and grammar check, and to use headings where appropriate to organize your thoughts. Your paper must be uploaded as a .doc, .docx, or .rtf file.