title: Self-care actions taken by older adults for influenza and colds.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, University of Missouri-Columbia.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Conn
mesh_terms: 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*