Chronic Illnesses

Chronic, non-communicable diseases are conditions of great concern, because of the significant burden they place on individuals, communities and health services. Many chronic illnesses are highly preventable, and effective action on prevention is, therefore, a high priority. Although prevalence has been recognised by some observers for at least three decades, neither the general public nor health professionals recognise the full implications of this for training, care, health insurance, and indeed for health care institutions themselves. We are just beginning to enter into a period when chronic illness per se (rather than specific or categorical chronic diseases) is referred to, considered, and acted on as a general reality. Although individuals at the workplace who are personally in contact with the affected co-workers have remained committed to assisting them, they often feel inadequately prepared for this challenging work.