Background: The perception of one's own illness by the elderly significantly affects the success of diagnostic and therapeutic processes. It depends on the patient's existential situation, coping strategies, social support and the way the patient is treated by the medical personnel. The aim of this study was to investigate how the elderly perceive their own illness.
Methods: The study covered 303 people over 60 years of age who were hospitalized in wards of Lublin hospitals. A diagnostic survey method was used in the study. The research tools were: the Illness Perception Questionnaire (Brief-IPQ), Imagination and Perception of Illness Scale (IPIS) and a questionnaire of own authorship. The place of residence in the study population significantly influenced the perception of own illness measured by the Brief-IPQ.
Results: The elderly perceived their own illness through the prism of mental and physical destruction. Statistically significant correlations were observed between almost all components of the Brief-IPQ and self-assessed health status of the subjects.
Conclusions: Older people's perception of their own illness is very important in the success of the therapeutic process. The perception of disease is not statistical; it changes depending on the chronicity of the disease, its duration, cultural factors and the doctor-patient relationship. It is associated with biopsychosocial processes that affect the ability to perceive and understand the disease and to take appropriate actions to improve health.
Keywords: chronic illness; illness; perceptions of own illness; the elderly.