Abstract
This chapter defines chronic illness, wellness, and competency. Suggestions for new directions in clinical and research efforts are also presented. There is a growing awareness of the high human cost of failure to enhance competency and wellness in people living with chronic disease. Unattained health potential is needlessly impairing the health status and quality of life for a number of adolescents with chronic illnesses. They are deprived of opportunities for participation in developmentally appropriate, growth-enhancing experiences at a critical stage in their life. It is now clearly recognized that there are economic stakes and concerns for human suffering in reducing the burden of chronic illness. For chronic conditions, there are no appropriate yardsticks to reflect accurately the impact of health services in preventing illness and restoring or maintaining maximal functioning. Physicians continue to have a pervasive tendency to rely on physiological markers such as levels of glucose, electrolytes, and blood pressure as outcome variables. Wellness is only partially related to actual medical status.
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