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Abstract

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.

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The Transformation of Social Representations of Chronic Disease in a Self-Help Group

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