Facilitating and Impeding Factors in Health Promotion for Patients with Chronic Illness: A Qualitative Study

The remarkable increase in the number of chronic diseases and failing in the definite treatment of these illnesses in order to meet the needs of these patients as well as the high costs of control and management of these diseases require special attention to the promotion of health in them. The first step in planning for this promotion is a study of the factors inflouencing health promotion in order to use them in planning to control and manage chronic diseases. Granded theory is a powerful research method to study social structures and processes. This method was employed in the present research to collect and analyze the data in chronic patients. Semi-Structured interviews were used to collect the data which were analyzed using continuous comparison method. Six main themes including the meaning of health, life style, individual factors, spiritual beliefs, support and education emerged, all of which were effective in the process of health promotion in these patients. The findings indicated the concepts found in the research were interactively influencing each other to promote health in chronic patients. Support and education overshadowed other factors and had them under its influence. So, it is necessary to emphasise the role of these two factors in health-promoting activities in chronic patients and leading the patients towards health promotion through increasing self-reliance and creating a supportive environment.