The UIC College of Pharmacy is bringing together experts from the United States and Canada to examine the intersection of chronic illness, medication and identity and raise awareness of this hidden issue at a groundbreaking symposium at the UIC Health Sciences Center, April 2. Chronic illness, alone, can transform an individual.
Medication can minimize the destructive biological impact of chronic illness.
It also can affect the self-image of a chronically ill individual. The ability to manage a chronic illness through medication may empower a person or undermine an individual's sense of autonomy and control. A Prozac prescription, for instance, may be a status symbol for some people in our culture. Medications also may be imbued with personal meanings. Whether cultural or idiosyncratic, what medication means to an individual is likely to affect that individual's willingness to comply with a prescribed drug regimen.