Evaluation and management of psychosocial issues

People living with chronic medical conditions face challenges not only with respect to their physical health, but also to their emotional and social well-being. Chronic conditions, such as systemic sclerosis (SSc), often result in significant disruptions to activities of daily living, including relationships, employment, homecare, and leisure time. Therefore, it is important to identify factors associated with decreased quality of life and psychosocial functioning and to develop and implement strategies to help individuals manage these problems. There is little research, however, on outcomes related to quality of life in SSc, and this has posed a significant clinical challenge to the field. Recently, an international panel of experts in behavioral and psychological health and well-being in SSc, including patients and patient advocates, published a consensus statement [1] that identified important patient-reported problems associated with quality of life and well-being in SSc. This agenda highlighted a number of areas that appear to be common problems with potentially important influences on quality of life for many people living with scleroderma; including depression, fatigue, pain, pruritus (itching), body image distress, and sexual dysfunction [1, 2].