Illness Theory Essay

PROPOSITIONS Propositions are statements that establish the relationships between concepts. Within the mentioned theory, there are many propositions that can be established. One such proposition is that uncertainty in illness results from a lack of cognitive schema development when a person has an illness related event. Another proposition would be that individual cognitively process illness-related stimuli and structure meaning from the events (McEwen & Wills, p.243, 2014). It can also be said that changes in uncertainty occur over time, either creating positive or negative assessment of uncertainty. Lastly, the theory proposes that uncertainty is an opportunity. Meaning that being uncertain “opens up the consideration of multiple possibilities
The theory is rooted in research as Mishel developed and tested several research instruments, uncertainty scales. These scales include:
“The Adult Uncertainty in Illness Scale and the Adult Uncertainty in Illness Scale- Community Form; the Parents’ Perception of Uncertainty in Illness Scale; the Parents’ Perception of Uncertainty in Illness Scale-Family Member; and the Uncertainty Scale for Kids (McEwen & Wills, p.244,
In describing the first two concepts they seem to be on the middle level, however structural providers are at a practice level being that the providers are physicians, nurses and other knowledgeable, support staff. The theory is parsimonious is its research, the reader is able to grasp the concepts and there are no more than needed to explain the theory. And lastly, the concepts and relationships have been logically represented within the theory and a model was created to showcase. For example, the relationship between an individual’s cognitive capacities and uncertainty. If a person is given more information than they can process at a given moment, it can lead to increased