Demands of Chronic Illness: A Perspective from an African Context

Using diabetes mellitus as an exemplar, the book explores the demands that chronic illness puts on patient and spouse and the impact they make on the their psychological wellbeing. The content of the book is informed by responses from interviews with 87 men and women living with diabetes mellitus and their marital partners in rural and urban Botswana. The findings of the study show some similarities and differences in patients¿ and their spouses¿ experience of illness demands, marital support, and psychological adjustment which have important implications for counselling. The study participants¿ experience with health care providers could ease or potentiate the experience or perception of illness demands.