The Chronic Illness Alliance has 55 member organisations, both state and national. The aim of the Alliance is to build a better focus in health policy and health services for all people with chronic illnesses. It does this through education and research projects.
The preferred definition of chronic illness is:
… “an illness that is permanent or lasts a long time. It may get slowly worse over time. It may lead to death, or it may finally go away. It may cause permanent changes to the body. It will certainly affect the person’s quality of life.”