Self-care actions taken by older adults for influenza and colds.
The purpose of this study was to examine self-care behaviors that older adults use to manage cold and influenza episodes. Interviews were conducted with 160 adults aged 65 to 94. A large number and a variety of cold- and influenza-related self-care actions were reported. Medication administration was found to be common for colds (79% of subjects) and influenza (95%). Subjects reported more illness-specific preventive behaviors for influenza than for colds. Influenza vaccination behavior was related to experiences with vaccination-associated illness, health state, and talking with physicians about vaccination. Few subjects identified potential hazards associated with influenza or colds.
Conn
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School of Nursing, University of Missouri-Columbia.
D000368:Aged; D003139:Common Cold / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D012648:Self Care / Q000379:methods*