SELF-CARE AGENCY AND ADULT HEALTH PROMOTION.
Contributors: University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Published: 1987
Number of pages: 163
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: A modification of Denyes' (1980) instrument to measure Orem's (1979, 1985) construct of self-care agency in adolescents was applied to a sample of employed adults having access to a health promotion program at the workplace. The Adult Self-Care Agency Scale (ASCAS) individual item scores were able to classify correctly a higher percentage of subjects by choice to describe themselves as healthy, participation in the work-based health promotion program, and performance of health-promoting behaviors than either the Adjective Check List (ACL) (Gough & Heilbrun, 1980) or the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC) Scales (Wallston, Wallston, & DeVellis, 1978).

Both gender and chronological age emerged as more clearly related to self-care agency than either marital status or formal education. Chronological age was not significantly correlated with subjects' reported performance of health-promoting behaviors, health promotion program participation, or choice of describing themselves as healthy. Marital status, education, and gender were not associated with performance of health-promoting behaviors (grouped) or participation in their health promotion program. Men described themselves as healthy more often than did women in this sample. As age increased, Chance Health Locus of Control (CHLC) scores decreased (sample mean age was 34). Neither Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC) scores or Adjective Check List (ACL) dimension scores were correlated with marital status, education, or gender.

Further study is needed to explore these findings in other employed adult populations, and to investigate variations in saliency of components of self-care agency across the adult life-span. Validation of the ASCAS as a diagnostic instrument is needed in order to advance nursing's ability to help clients promote, regain, or retain functional self-care agency.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 48-06, Section: B, page: 1639.

Thesis (D.S.N.)--UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM, 1987.

School code: 0005.