Over 45 percent the American population have one or more chronic conditions, and almost 30 percent of these individuals have sufficient disability to limit their normal daily activities. While some chronic illnesses are genetic, research shows that others can be prevented or minimized through effective interventions to alter health behaviors. When chronic illness cannot be prevented, the goal is to manage it successfully - to minimize its impact and progression and maximize normal functioning. Considerable research has now been done to test interventions to enhance functionality, promote self-care, manage symptoms, and enhance quality of life. However, few of these interventions have reached the practice community. Further, researchers studying different chronic illnesses often seem to be working without awareness of commonalities in the prevention and management of different chronic illnesses. The purposes of this project are to have an impact on these two problems. Specifically, the aims of the project are to hold a national conference and research roundtable in order to: (1) Bring together researchers who are working with different chronic illnesses to explore commonalities across illnesses, to share advances in research methodologies, to examine the applicability of successful interventions to diverse chronic illness populations, and to establish new collaborations; (2) Disseminate, via a national conference, the latest research on preventing and managing chronic illness to health care providers and administrators so these advances can be incorporated into practice; and (3) Provide opportunities for researchers, health care providers and administrators, and policy analysts to examine together the latest research on chronic illness, evaluate its applicability for different practice settings, and explore organizational and policy changes needed for widespread implementation. In addition, the latest research on preventing and managing chronic illness, organizational and policy implications, and conceptual and methodological advances will be disseminated to the national and international health care communities through the Internet and print publications.
