The transformation of social representations of chronic disease in a self-help group.

A Participant Action Research process was carried out with individuals affected by Inflammatory Bowel Disease, more specifically Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis. The results show evidence of a transformation of social representations of disease. 'Normalization' is the central component of the transformation, indicating the achievement of a more restricted representation of the illness. This change is an attitudinal modification, which is characterized by higher tolerance of the disease--accepting its chronic nature and the limitations it imposes on daily life--, acceptance of the possibility of being supported by others in facing the disease, and the recognition of a transformational process that involves different stages in dealing with and accepting the disease.