What is a chronic medical condition?
A chronic medical condition is one that has been (or is likely to be) present for six months or longer and has (or will have) a significant impact on a person's life.
Chronic medical conditions include a range of conditions, syndromes and diseases. Some conditions are stable and well managed, others are degenerative and/or terminal.
Examples:
- Anaemia
- Arthritis/Musculoskeletal conditions (fact sheet from Dept. of Health and Ageing)
- Asthma
- Auto Immune Disease
- Cancer
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
- Chronic Heart Condition
- Chronic Migraines
- Crohn’s Disease/Irritable Bowel Syndrome
- Cystic Fibrosis
- Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT)
- Diabetics (fact sheet from Dept. of Health and Ageing)
- Glandular Fever
- Heart Conditions (taken from the Heart Foundation)
- HIV/AIDS
- Muscular Dystrophy
- Sinusitis
- Stroke
Resources
Fact sheets & information
- Teaching & Assessment Strategies for Students with Chronic Health Conditions (CATS website)
- Impacts of other impairments on study (CATS website)
- Health Direct (an Australian Government initiative providing up-to-date and reliable information on a range of health conditions)
- JobAccess (a comprehensive list of information about disability, including chronic medical conditions)
- Real Time Health