SELF-CARE ABILITIES AND PRACTICES FOR PREVENTION OF HIV INFECTION AMONG RURAL THAI WOMEN WHO ATTENDED MOBILE FAMILY PLANNING CLINIC (IMMUNE DEFICIENCY).
Contributors: University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Published: 1994
Number of pages: 131
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Health Sciences, Public Health.; Health Sciences, Education.
Description: This descriptive correlational study was conducted to examine self-care abilities and practices for HIV prevention among rural Thai women who attended the family planning clinic and to ascertain the relationships among self-care abilities, self-care practices, and selected conditioning factors. The conceptual framework was derived from Orem's (1991) self-care deficit theory of nursing and the Nursing Development Conference Group's structural analysis of self-care agency.

A convenience sample of 309 women, aged 19 to 49 years, was drawn from nine sites of the mobile clinic of the Family Planning Northern Program, Thailand. The study instruments included the Self-Care Abilities for HIV Prevention (SCA-HIV) questionnaire, the Self-Care Practices for HIV Prevention (SCP-HIV) questionnaire, and the Demographic Data Profile. All were investigator-developed instruments. Data were collected by interview method. Results indicated that the women had low to moderate levels of self-care ability, and the majority of them had not used condoms in the past 6 months. Multiple regression analysis demonstrated a significant relationship between condom use for HIV prevention and the decision making component of self-care ability. Woman's opportunity for making family decisions was the only one conditioning factor which was significantly associated with condom use; however, the relationship was contrary to the hypothesis. Reliability and validity of the SCA-HIV questionnaire were assessed in this study. The internal consistency reliability of the total instrument was sufficient but the reliabilities of subscales were below standard. The factor solution demonstrated 14 factors but only 6 of these factors were interpretable.

The findings have implications for nursing theory, practice, education, and research. Support for Orem's (1991) theory was evident. The knowledge gained can be used in developing programs for promotion of condom use to prevent HIV infection among rural Thai women. It is recommended that qualitative research be conducted to identify other variables that influence women's practices of condom use. It is further recommended that this study be replicated with a more representative sample of rural Thai women and in different geographical locations of the country. Additionally, longitudinal intervention study and revision of the SCA-HIV questionnaire are recommended.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-08, Section: B, page: 3241.

Thesis (D.S.N.)--UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM, 1994.

School code: 0005.