HEALTH CARE CONSUMERS' PREFERENCE FOR AN ACTIVE ROLE IN THEIR NURSING CARE.
Contributors: Texas Woman's University.
Published: 1993
Number of pages: 204
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: The study examined health care consumers' degree of preference for an active role in their (a) general, overall hospital nursing care; (b) nursing care in five hypothetical hospital situations; and (c) nursing care when they are provided with information about correct nursing actions for these hypothetical situations. The study framework was based on King's (1981) work and on predictors of health care consumers' degree of active role preference found in the literature.

The greatest percentage of the 402 participants were female, White, Baptist, in good health, over 65 years of age, and had some college or trade school education. They had been hospitalized 1-4 times, considered their ability to pay for health care as good, and had an external chance health locus of control orientation.

A preference for an active role in their general, overall hospital nursing care was indicated by 87.8% of the participants. Preference for an active role in their nursing care in five hypothetical situations varied from 54.4% to 69.7%, for an average of 69.2% for the five situations combined. Preference for an active role in their nursing care when provided with information about correct nursing care varied from 71.9% to 84.1%, for an average of 76.5% for all situations combined. This finding suggests that providing information about correct nursing actions might lead to more active participation by the health care consumer.

Gender, Presbyterian religion, and internal locus of control accounted for 6% of the variance in the degree of preference for an active role in their nursing care in the general, overall hospital situation. Internal locus of control, gender, and age accounted for 5% of the variance in the participants' degree of preference for an active role in their nursing care in five hypothetical hospital situations. Finally, internal locus of control and chance locus of control accounted for 3% of the variance in the participants' degree of preference for an active role in their nursing care in these five situations when they were given information about correct nursing actions. These data suggest that demographic variables have little predictive capability in determining active role preference.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-10, Section: B, page: 5092.

Thesis (PH.D.)--TEXAS WOMAN'S UNIVERSITY, 1993.

School code: 0925.