Chronic Illness Paper - 5 PAGES Please read instructions

5 pages minimum. the project is to write a paper on an interview you do with someone who deals with a chronic illness (do not use a mental illness) something like breast cancer is acceptable. See the attached guidelines and same paper. Do NOT include a full script of the interview in the paper, just the questions and everything stated in the guideline page. Use a fake name for the person you interview or refer to only their first name as they are not to be identified. The goal of this project is to increase your understanding of the complex biopsychosocial factors involved in managing chronic illness. Provide a written summary of each of the following steps. Please double-space your work, and use MLA or APA style (including a references page) in your write-up. 1. IDENTIFY A CHRONIC CONDITION Identify a person (e.g., neighbor, relative, friend, classmate, etc) who has been diagnosed with a chronic physical illness and who is willing to talk to you about his/her experience. Chronic conditions are those that, once developed, are with you for the rest of your life. These conditions usually cannot be cured, but instead require lifelong management. There are many types of chronic conditions that people may experience (e.g., asthma, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, spina bifida, cystic fibrosis, chronic pain, fibromyalgia, etc.). If you have difficulties identifying someone with a chronic condition, or if you have questions about whether the condition you are considering fits the description, please let us know as soon as possible. Please be respectful of the person who is willing to share their personal experiences with you. Do not put identifying information in your write-up (e.g., use their first name without their last name), and treat the information they share with you as confidential. Let the individual know that their name will not be personally identified in the information that you write up for this project, and that you will not tell others what they say to you. 2. DESCRIBE THE CONDITION (20 POINTS) Once you have identified a chronic condition, do some research on it by going to your text, the library or web sites that have strong research based information (e.g., web sites from the National Institutes of Health are always a good bet). Your job is to develop a basic understanding about the illness, its treatments, and the way that psychosocial factors may affect and be affected by the illness and to write a summary to tell us what you have learned. This summary should be no more than 2 double-spaced pages (12 point font, 1 inch margins), and should include the following types of information. Note that these are example questions to give you an idea of what we are looking for. Different conditions will have different types of information that is most relevant, so you do not need to answer each of these questions: a) The illness - What is the cause of the illness, how is it diagnosed, what is its typical course, what are the symptoms patients usually experience, who usually gets it (e.g., Is it diagnosed in men more than women? Is it diagnosed in childhood or in adulthood?) etc. b) The treatments – What are the medical procedures or lifestyle changes people need to make to manage the illness, how well do patients do at following these treatments, what factors make adherence more or less difficult, are there side-effects, etc. c) Psychosocial factors – Are there psychological or social factors (e.g., stress, depression, anxiety, illness perceptions) that contribute to the development or management of the condition? Are there psychosocial consequences of having the illness? 3. CONDUCT AN INTERVIEW (20 POINTS) Once you have a general understanding of the illness from the research literature, conduct an interview with the individual to gain a more personal understanding of what it is like to live with and manage this condition. You should have a set of questions to spur the patient to “tell their story,” but keep the interview brief (no more than 20-30 min), and let the patient do most of the talking. The types of questions that you could ask include: How did you learn that you had this condition (i.e., how were you diagnosed)? What were your first reactions to receiving the diagnosis? What do you need to do to manage your illness? What is the hardest thing about having this condition and how do you cope? How has your illness affected the way you think about yourself, now or in the future? Has your illness affected how people interact with you? Are there good things that have come from dealing with this illness? What advice would you give to someone who has just been diagnosed with this condition to help them cope? In no more than 3 pages (double-spaced, 12 point font, 1 inch margins), summarize the most informative or interesting findings from your interview. One way to do this is to list the question, and summarize or quote the response. 4. REFLECT (10 POINTS) In no more than 1 page, discuss your experiences with and reactions to this class project. What was the most interesting or surprising thing you learned about coping with this condition – or with chronic illnesses in general? Did you get a different understanding of the illness when you talked to the person than when you read about the illness? How do you think you would respond if you developed this condition?