Patient-provider communication in chronic illness: a health promotion window of opportunity.

As chronic illness takes its rightful place as an imperative for planners and policy makers globally, the obligation to provide appropriate self-care management support and promote optimal health among the chronically ill is attracting considerable attention. A generation of insider research into the chronic illness experience has yielded powerful evidence of the critical importance of communication between the chronically ill and those who provide their healthcare services. In this article, insights gained from the body of chronic illness research shape recommendations for attitudinal and structural adjustments that might steer our course toward promoting improved health for those affected by a chronic disease.