Self-management of a chronic illness involves not only monitoring symptoms, adhering to
medication regimens, and keeping medical appointments but also making and maintaining …

Interactions with close family members have consequences for the emotional and physical
well-being of individuals who are dealing with a chronic physical illness. Therefore …

The management of patients with chronic disease constitutes the largest single cost to the
health care system in the United States. New approaches and methods are needed to …

Links between chronic illness and family relationships have led to psychosocial
interventions targeted at the patient's closest family member or both patient and family …

In general, social support from family members affects chronic illness outcomes, but
evidence on which specific family behaviors are most important to adult patient outcomes …

Inclusion of a close family member (eg, the spouse) in psychosocial interventions for chronic
illness may be more efficacious than focusing solely on the patient. This article reviews and …

Intervention research for couples and families managing chronic health problems is in an
early developmental stage. We reviewed randomized clinical trials of family interventions for …

Parent–child collaborative decision making (CDM) is a potentially important precursor to full
decision-making independence and may be particularly significant for the management of …

Highlights•The importance of viewing chronic illness in the context of dyadic relationships is
discussed.•Models with implicit interventions to improve couples' coping with chronic illness …

In this article, a family systems theoretical framework is described for understanding the
reciprocal relationships between chronic illness in a family member and the structure and …