TY - JOUR
T1 - The illness uncertainty concept
T2 - A review
AU - Wright, Lisa Johnson
AU - Afari, Niloofar
AU - Zautra, Alex
N1 - Funding Information:
This article was supported by the National Institute of Health (Award RO1AR051524). The authors would like to thank Drs. John Reich and Merle Mishel for their invaluable contributions to this project.
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - Illness uncertainty is present for both acute and chronic illnesses and has been described in the literature as a cognitive stressor, a sense of loss of control, and a perceptual state of doubt that changes over time. Illness uncertainty is associated with poor adjustment, but often needs to be appraised as a threat to have its deleterious effect. In pain populations, illness uncertainty is related to heightened sensitivity to pain and reduced tolerance of painful stimuli. Illness uncertainty also has been related to maladaptive coping, higher psychological distress, and reduced quality of life. The illness uncertainty literature in relation to pain is somewhat limited but clearly suggests the potential negative impact on the perception of and adjustment to pain. Future research should examine specific predictors of illness uncertainty, how this construct changes over time, and what interventions may be effective in reducing illness uncertainty for individuals who experience pain conditions.
AB - Illness uncertainty is present for both acute and chronic illnesses and has been described in the literature as a cognitive stressor, a sense of loss of control, and a perceptual state of doubt that changes over time. Illness uncertainty is associated with poor adjustment, but often needs to be appraised as a threat to have its deleterious effect. In pain populations, illness uncertainty is related to heightened sensitivity to pain and reduced tolerance of painful stimuli. Illness uncertainty also has been related to maladaptive coping, higher psychological distress, and reduced quality of life. The illness uncertainty literature in relation to pain is somewhat limited but clearly suggests the potential negative impact on the perception of and adjustment to pain. Future research should examine specific predictors of illness uncertainty, how this construct changes over time, and what interventions may be effective in reducing illness uncertainty for individuals who experience pain conditions.
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U2 - 10.1007/s11916-009-0023-z
DO - 10.1007/s11916-009-0023-z
M3 - Review article
C2 - 19272279
AN - SCOPUS:63249083579
SN - 1531-3433
VL - 13
SP - 133
EP - 138
JO - Current Pain and Headache Reports
JF - Current Pain and Headache Reports
IS - 2
ER -