Word: chronic
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Kennedy's quest for employment will encompass the spectrum of issues surrounding chronically ill people in the workplace: the need for flexibility and special accommodations, the high hurdles of re-entry and the challenges that precarious health places on people with a passionate drive to perform but a body that can't always cope with the stress of job performance. According to a Johns Hopkins University study called "Partnership for Solutions: Better Lives for People with Chronic Illness," about 40% of the U.S. working-age population has some form of chronic condition, defined as any that persists for a year...
Kennedy represents the majority of people who take time off owing to chronic illness and return--willingly--to the job market. According to Karrie Zampini, director of postcancer treatment services at New York City's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital, 80% of cancer survivors go back to work. But when they do, they bring with them a very different set of needs and concerns that employers must understand...
Advocates agree there is an urgent need for education in the workplace concerning chronic illness. Some of the most difficult situations arise for people with HIV/AIDS, which still carries a stigma in many places. Most of the time, the needs of those with the disease are small but critical to their health. "Many of the drugs must be taken with food, and so the person needs to be eating at all times of the day, not just at lunch. Co-workers may see this and ask questions. So that person is presented with a disclosure issue when...
...them in advance, rather than in the thick of a crisis situation. "Remember what work represents to people," says Sloan-Kettering's Zampini. "It's mastery and control over one's life. Work brings an enormous sense of personal fulfillment and self-worth." And productive workers--even those with chronic illnesses--more often than not give back with interest...
...better idea of what could be in store, it helps to know what physicians believe lies at the root of most heart attacks. The trouble begins decades earlier, when the inside of a coronary artery becomes damaged--usually as a result of chronic high blood pressure, high cholesterol or the deleterious effects of smoking. The body tries to repair the damage, and a kind of internal scab is formed. Years go by, and the scab develops into a fatty deposit, filled with cholesterol, proteins and bits of cellular detritus. Sometimes the plaque is quite stable, and nothing much happens. Other...