THE MULTIDIMENSIONAL ESSENCE OF DISEASE AND ILLNESS SCALE AS A NEW TOOL IN HEALTH SCIENCES (Wielowymiarowa Skala Istoty Choroby jako nowe narzedzie badawcze w naukach o zdrowiu)

Contemporary health sciences cooperate with psychology aiming at understanding illness. One of the branches of psychological discipline, which is very important to this aim, is the health psychology. The Multidimensional Essence of Disease and Illness Scale (MEDIS), designed by J. Sak, refers to the methodology of health psychology. The MEDIS scale factors describe: self realisation constraints, mental dysfunction, physical dysfunction, infection and social withdrawal. The scale includes 28 items about 'to be ill'.