Evolution of a Conceptual Model for Adaptation to Chronic Illness

Because chronic illnesses are the foremost health problem globally; many people are faced with the task of adapting to a chronic health condition. Adapting is the process whereby thinking and feeling individuals use conscious awareness and choice to create human and environmental integration (Roy & Andrews, 1999). Yet, there is much to be learned about the adaptation process and strategies that will promote more positive adaptive responses to chronic illnesses (Pollock, 1993). The definition of nursing includes “alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human responses” (ANA, 2003), and nursing research plays a key role in identifying the predictors of adaptation to chronic illness (diagnosis) and designing nursing models (treatment frameworks) that will maximize successful adaptation (human response). The utility of a nursing model is to provide a frame of reference for explaining the components of the human responses to be studied and facilitating the synthesis of relationships among these components with the ultimate purpose of guiding nursing practice (Pollock, Frederickson, Carson, Massey, & Roy, 1994). The purpose of this article is to describe the evolution of “The Women to Women Conceptual Model for Adaptation to Chronic Illness” from its inception to its current permutation.