title: Critical analysis of everyday self-care decision making in chronic illness.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of the paper is to (1) identify prevalent assumptions that underlie the traditional conceptualization of everyday self-care decision making and (2) contrast these with the findings of relevant research.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Current understandings of self-care decision making in chronic illness tend to be extrapolated from knowledge gained in relation to one-time decisions, or decision making in contexts that are only superficially related to the complexity and pervasiveness of living with a chronic disease.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The authors challenge the assumptions with which current understandings represent self-care decision making in chronic illness, using evidence from their research on what it is like to live with and manage the implications of having a chronic disease on an everyday basis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The paper concludes with a call for a new conceptualization of self-care decision making in chronic illness which sufficiently addresses the unique and complex nature of such decisions.
authors.affiliation: University of British Columbia School of Nursing, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. paterson@nursing.ubc.ca
authors.forename: B L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Paterson
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Russell
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Thorne
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000523:psychology*; D003657:Decision Making; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D016294:Models, Nursing; D008960:Models, Psychological; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000523:psychology; D012648:Self Care / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology*