SELF-CARE AGENCY IN GAY MEN WITH HIV INFECTION (IMMUNE DEFICIENCY).
Contributors: University of California, San Francisco.
Published: 1992
Number of pages: 175
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: Two constructs from Orem's self-care deficit theory formed the basis for this study of self-care agency and therapeutic self-care demand in gay men with HIV infection. The Self-as-Carer Inventory was used as the measure of self-care agency and the HIV-Specific Therapeutic Self-Care Demand Inventory, developed by the investigator, was employed to measure the therapeutic self-care demand. Three hundred-one subjects, aged 21-61, who had less than 200 T helper cells comprised the sample.

The study explored the relationship between one of the four component concepts of self-care agency--self-care operations--and self-care agency. It developed the empirical relationship between the basic conditioning factors and self-care agency. Self-care operations were measured by another paper and pencil instrument developed for the study, which was the HIV-Related Self-Care Behaviors Checklist.

A correlational design was used to relate demographic, therapeutic self-care demand, and self-care operations inventory scores to total and factor-specific self-care agency scores. In addition, a longitudinal design was used to capture the change in self-care operations in one case.

The longitudinal portion of the study was composed of 90 days of audio taped recordings of one subject's responses to questions about self-care operations. The analysis of the transcriptions from the audio tapes determined the congruence between factors that emerged from the HIV-Related Self-Care Behaviors Checklist and core categories from the transcribed data.

The two instruments developed for this study and the Self-as-Carer Inventory were analyzed using principal components analysis. Ten factors emerged from non-orthogonal analysis of the Self-as-Carer Inventory, accounting for 64.5% of total variance. Three factors were isolated from the orthogonal analysis of the HIV-Related Self-Care Behaviors Checklist, accounting for 63% of total variance. Two sub-scales from the HIV-Specific Therapeutic Self-Care Demand Inventory also produced orthogonal factor patterns accounting for 60% in total variance.

Combination of items from the HIV-Specific Therapeutic Self-Care Demand Inventory produced an operational definition for therapeutic self-care demand. Therapeutic self-care demand scores were negatively correlated (r = $-$0.38, p = $<$0.00) with self-care agency scores. Subsequent regression analysis of therapeutic self-care demand scores revealed that lower scores (i.e., less self-care demand) were predictors of higher levels of self-care agency--a finding that was consistent with the theory.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 53-07, Section: B, page: 3400.

Thesis (PH.D.)--UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO, 1992.

School code: 0034.