Symptoms are the most common reason people seek health care. Symptoms are a major problem for individuals and their families since their management and resulting outcomes are often their own responsibility. Many people wonder if they are "doing the right thing" and if their symptom management strategies are appropriate.
If symptom control is not achieved, frequently individuals' valued activities are disrupted and their quality of life adversely affected. At the same time, health care providers have difficulty developing symptom management strategies that can be applied in the acute care, ambulatory care, and home care settings because there are few tested models of symptom management.