Publication at Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Králové |
2010
Abstract
The review study emphasises the necessity for medical staff to be acquainted with the views of patients–laymen on their illness. Their views may be very peculiar, often mistaken, but the patients may be governed by them.
For these patient views number of terms are used: lay conception of illness, lay theories of illness, illness beliefs, and mental representation of illness. The more severe the illness is, the more necessary it is to find the patient´s view of the problem.
The study summarizes the recent research in cancer patients and methods that allow assessing the patient´s conception of the disease.