Ebook76 pages1 hour
Curing our Ills: The psychology of chronic disease risk, experience and care in Africa
Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
()
About this ebook
Millions of Ghanaians live with diabetes, hypertension, stroke, cancers and other major chronic diseases. Millions more are at risk of getting these conditions. Individuals living with chronic conditions experience many disruptions, especially at the early stages of diagnosis and adjustment. The disruptions are physical (medical complications), psychological (depression), material (impoverishment), social (stigma) and spiritual (struggles with faith and trust). These experiences have an impact on family life and resources, with primary caregivers bearing similar disruptions to their chronically ill loved ones. While chronic conditions cannot be cured, many individuals hope for a cure. This hope drives healthcare seeking across different sectors of Ghana’s vibrant pluralistic health system. When ‘hope for a cure’ meets ‘claims to cure’ within the herbalist and faith healing sectors, especially, the outcomes for individuals and their families can be catastrophic. The Ghanaian situation is mirrored in many African countries. It is estimated that African chronic non-communicable disease (NCD) prevalence, morbidity and mortality rates will rise faster than rates in Asia and Latin America over the coming decades. The long term and costly nature of NCDs has major implications for individuals, communities, health systems and governments.
In this inaugural lecture, Professor Ama de-Graft Aikins discusses the psychology of chronic disease risk, experience and care in Africa. She makes a case for why the problem of NCDs needs to be examined through a psychological lens. She draws on her independent and collaborative work on diabetes representations and experiences among Ghanaians in Ghana and Europe, and the broader African and global health literature, to highlight the complex multi-level context of chronic disease risk, experience and care. She presents a synthesis of the evidence through the concepts of physical ills and ideological ills, arguing that both are interconnected and, as a result, must be addressed through interdisciplinary approaches. She concludes by offering practical solutions for reducing chronic disease risk and improving the quality of long-term experience and care in Ghana, using examples from countries that have implemented successful NCD interventions.
In this inaugural lecture, Professor Ama de-Graft Aikins discusses the psychology of chronic disease risk, experience and care in Africa. She makes a case for why the problem of NCDs needs to be examined through a psychological lens. She draws on her independent and collaborative work on diabetes representations and experiences among Ghanaians in Ghana and Europe, and the broader African and global health literature, to highlight the complex multi-level context of chronic disease risk, experience and care. She presents a synthesis of the evidence through the concepts of physical ills and ideological ills, arguing that both are interconnected and, as a result, must be addressed through interdisciplinary approaches. She concludes by offering practical solutions for reducing chronic disease risk and improving the quality of long-term experience and care in Ghana, using examples from countries that have implemented successful NCD interventions.
Author
de-Graft Aikins
Ama de-Graft Aikins is associate professor of social psychology at the Regional Institute for Population Studies and Director of the Centre for Social Policy Studies, University of Ghana. Her research interests include diabetes experiences and care, food beliefs and habits, health and illness representations and the development of community-based cardiovascular disease (CVD) interventions.
Related to Curing our Ills
Related ebooks
Psycho-Oncology for the Clinician: The Patient Behind the Disease Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTrends in Health Care: A Global Challenge Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsInternational Health: An Interdisciplinary Perspective, 3rd Edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPerspectives on Death and Dying Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCausation in Population Health Informatics and Data Science Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsComprehensive Geriatric Assessment Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMigraine: Emerging Innovations and Treatment Options Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsClinical Management of Infertility: Problems and Solutions Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDepression Conceptualization and Treatment: Dialogues from Psychodynamic and Cognitive Behavioral Perspectives Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGeriatric Emergency Medicine Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Manifesto for Mental Health: Why We Need a Revolution in Mental Health Care Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsImaging of Ischemic Heart Disease in Women: A Critical Review of the Literature Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Cultural Safety Approach to Health Psychology Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWithout Stigma: About the Stigma of the Mental Illness Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Global Health in Africa: Historical Perspectives on Disease Control Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Ageless Generation: How Advances in Biomedicine Will Transform the Global Economy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSyncope: An Evidence-Based Approach Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Essentials of Psychodermatology Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDeath By Sitting: Why We Need A Movement Revolution Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Killer Diseases, Modern-Day Epidemics: Keys to Stopping Heart Disease, Diabetes, Cancer, and Obesity in Their Tracks Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPsychiatry of Pandemics: A Mental Health Response to Infection Outbreak Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBlack Plague Demystified: Doctor’s Secret Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCOVID-19 in Clinical Practice: Lessons Learned and Future Perspectives Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSudden Death: Advances in Diagnosis and Treatment Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPositron Emission Tomography with Computed Tomography (PET/CT) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGetting Risk Right: Understanding the Science of Elusive Health Risks Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Case for Masks: Science-Based Advice for Living During the Coronavirus Pandemic Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIntegrative Health Nursing Interventions for Vulnerable Populations Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBusiness Continuity and the Pandemic Threat: Potentially the biggest survival challenge facing organisations Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Resilient Cyborgs: Living and Dying with Pacemakers and Defibrillators Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Reviews for Curing our Ills
Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Curing our Ills - de-Graft Aikins
Enjoying the preview?
Page 1 of 1