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Springer recently announced publication of a major health care textbook entitled, Chronic Illness Care: Principles and Practice, which was edited by Timothy Daaleman, DO, MPH, and Margaret Helton, MD, from the UNC Department of Family Medicine.

Tim Daaleman, DO, MPH and Margaret Helton, MD, MPH

The book uses an ecological framework to examine chronic illness care at multiple levels and includes sections on individual, organizational, and larger social and environmental influences on chronic illness.  In addition, the role of family and peer support, and how chronic care is provided across the spectrum of health care settings, from home and residential care facilities, to ambulatory care settings, to hospitals and other acute care environments, is covered.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, chronic diseases cause 70% of deaths each year.  The care and treatment of those with chronic diseases account for most of the nation’s health care costs.

“Chronic disease has displaced acute infectious diseases as the major cause of morbidity and mortality. Responding to this change requires culture change on many levels, as well as a paradigm shift regarding care approaches to people with chronic disease,” notes Dr. Helton, Vice Chair of Clinical Excellence & Associate Chair for Faculty Affairs at Family Medicine.

Dr. Daaleman highlights that “Chronic Illness Care fills an information need for health care providers and other stakeholders, as well as learners, in developing competencies related to the care of chronically ill patients, such as understanding the organizational frameworks that house care, the individual and social determinants of health, and the larger policy and fiscal influences that impact the delivery of chronic care services.”

“This text includes substantial contributions from our Family Medicine faculty and other UNC faculty, as well as chapters from national and international experts. The book is a resource not only for current practitioners and medical students, but also those in health policy, nursing, social work, pharmacy, allied health, and behavioral medicine,” adds Dr. Helton

Dr. Helton is a Professor of Family Medicine, is board certified also in geriatrics, and provides care at the UNC Family Medicine Center and UNC Hospitals, and at a local continuing care retirement community.

Dr. Daaleman is a Professor of Family Medicine.  During his years as Vice Chair, he established the REACH Program, a community-based, serious illness care service line for patients who are homebound.  He currently is Co-Chair of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Advisory Panel on Healthcare Delivery and Disparities Research.

“The scope of care for patients with chronic illness goes well beyond medical care,” Dr. Daaleman emphasizes, “and this textbook addresses the needs of health care providers who face great complexity in caring for this growing population in an era of ongoing transformation.”

The textbook can be purchased online now.