About the research
Wales has the highest rates of long-term, life limiting illness in the UK, and the impact of chronic conditions on people’s lives and services in Wales is of growing concern for the National Health Service (NHS) (Source: NHS Wales). Dr Ivy Shiue, from Heriot-Watt University, conducted a study exploring long term conditions among Welsh adults and found that thousands of people have not learnt to live with the symptoms of long term health conditions.
The study, published in the International Journal of Cardiology analysed data from the Welsh Health Survey 2012 to assess how many adults in Wales were either receiving treatment for or learning to live with their symptoms. The chronic health conditions in the study are self-reported and include angina, arthritis, asthma, cancer, depression or anxiety, diabetes, heart attack, hypertension or stroke. The Welsh Health Survey 2012 is a country-wide study based on a representative sample of adults aged 16 and over living in private households in Wales. The data analysed were obtained through household interviews with adults in a four week period and covered demographics, self-reported health conditions and any pain occurrence. Almost 16,000 adults took part in the Survey.
Methodology
The aim of the study was to determine whether participants could learn to live with their symptoms. In the first step, associations between chronic diseases and whether respondents learnt to live with symptoms were examined. In the second step, pain in the previous four weeks was adjusted in the modelling as a potential buffer in order to see whether there was still statistical significance. Effects were estimated by using odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI), with P < 0.05 considered statistically significant. A detailed table of results can be found in Ivy’s article in International Journal of Cardiology.
Findings showed that nearly 30% of the respondents reported that they hadn’t learnt to cope with the mental or physical pain associated with their condition.
“These patients may start to lose hope and their sense of identity, ultimately leading to a feeling of irritation, worthlessness and despair at their condition.” Dr Shiue
Around 10% reported untreated depressive or anxious symptoms. Around 20% however, said they had learnt to live with their chronic conditions and Dr Shiue suggests that improving and investing in patient self-care could help reduce the painful symptoms associated with historical health conditions:
“Future public health intervention and nursing rehabilitation programs that could help ease pains for people with historical health conditions, in particular mental and neurological disorders, to assist them with learning to live with their symptoms should be prioritised along with health prevention nationally.”
Findings for Policy
The research has the potential to inform government policy on how to improve health and management of chronic conditions in Wales.
According to an article by the BBC, “the Welsh government said it was working with charities on a patient guide for those with chronic illnesses” and suggested that “people living with long-term health conditions could benefit from working with medical professionals to help manage their health and well-being.” A guide for patients is also being developed with the Long Term Conditions Alliance Cymru.
The study received attention in the media, including:
BBC News (2015) ‘Everything went wrong’ with mental illness, 24 Feb. Available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-31588683?ns_mchannel=social&ns_campaign=bbc_wales_news&ns_source=twitter&ns_linkname=wales
Alasdair Hutchison (2015) Nearly one-third of Welsh adults struggling to live with everyday burdens of chronic illnesses, Pagoda, 24 Feb. Available at http://www.pagodapr.com/news-and-blog/news/nearly-one-third-of-welsh-adults-struggling-to-live-with-everyday-burdens-of
Steffan Messenger (2015) Long term pain ‘a struggle for 30%’, BBC News, 24 Feb. Available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-31588680
Cathy Owen (2015) A third of adults in Wales are struggling to cope with ‘long-term’ pain, Wales Online, 24 Feb. Retrieved online from http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/third-adults-wales-struggling-cope-8706492
Cardiff Times (2015) Nearly one-third of Welsh adults struggling to live with everyday burdens of chronic illnesses, 24 Feb. Available at http://cardiff-times.co.uk/nearly-one-third-of-welsh-adults-struggling-to-live-with-everyday-burdens-of-chronic-illnesses/
To read more about this research:
Shiue, I. (2015) ‘People with pain were less likely to learn to live with disease symptoms: Welsh Health Survey, 2012’, International Journal of Cardiology, 182(1), pp. 88-89. doi:10.1016/j.ijcard.2015.01.003.