Chronic Illness Memoir Analysis
You will select a chronic illness memoir to read and critically consider this semester. This is an opportunity for you to learn more about a specific chronic illness that you may be particularly interested in. Additionally, the chronic illness memoir is meant to provide a first-person account of the challenges of living with a certain condition.
Your analysis should provide a brief background related to the individual and his/her diagnosis. This background should identify the chronic illness as well as highlight some of the specific challenges related to management from the individual’s point of view. After establishing the background, your critical analysis should focus on applying concepts from the course to better understand the individual’s experience of his/her illness (e.g., How does this concept further our understanding of the events described? How can we understand the individual’s thought/behavior in relation to this concept?). As part of this analysis, you might provide a detailed description of the individual’s experience of stress and his/her coping strategies including an examination of the role of social support. You might also consider the incidence of pain and different pain management techniques that were utilized. Additionally, an exploration of the individual’s encounters with health services might be appropriate. As you engage in this analysis, you should also consider whether there are points of disagreement. Is the individual’s experience different from what you might have expected given the available research? These are only a few suggestions; there are likely many opportunities for you to utilize course content in your analysis.
In short, your analysis should demonstrate a recognition of the various points of intersection between psychology and health. The analysis should be 5-7 pages in length (excluding title page and references) and utilize APA format for font, margins, spacing, citations, and references. Criteria for evaluation are listed below.
Criteria for Evaluation
1) Provides a brief background related to the individual and his/her diagnosis identifying the chronic illness (CCT1; 20 points)
2) Includes some of the specific challenges related to management from the individual’s point of view (CCT2; 20 points)
3) Applies principles of health psychology to better understand the individual’s experience of his/her illness (CCT5; 20 points)
4) Considers whether there are points of disagreement between the individual’s experience and the available research analysis (CCT3; 20 points)
5) Demonstrates a recognition of the various points of intersection between psychology and health (CCT4; 20 points)
