[Description and analysis of disease representation in chronic patients through the Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-r): implications for clinical practice].

Introduction: According to the theory of Self-Regulation, the individual develops self-regulation processes that guide the course of pathology through mental representations of disease. These should be an essential part of nursing in developing the patient's motivation and self-efficacy, and the Illness Perception Questionnaire allows us to understand the construction processes.

Aim: The aim is to analyze the mental representations of illness of a group of chronically ill patients, to evaluate the implications in therapeutic adherence and clinical practice.