title: Self-care agency: conceptualizations and operationalizations.
abstract: This article traces the interactive process between theory and research as it has been used to clarify the concept of self-care agency, a key concept in Orem's model of nursing. Theoretical constructions of self-care agency that have emerged in the work of Orem and the Nursing Development Conference Group are reviewed. Operational measures of self-care agency are described, particularly with regard to their underlying theoretical formulations. Factorial structures for some self-care agency instruments are related to the components of self-care agency in Orem's most recent conceptualization. Dimensions of self-care agency that are consistently supported by research studies of this phenomenon are identified.
authors.affiliation: College of Nursing, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan.
authors.forename: H L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Gast
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Denyes
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Hartweg
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schott-Baer
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Isenberg
mesh_terms: D001294:Attitude to Health; D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009042:Motivation; D015399:Nursing Research; D009742:Nursing Theory; D011209:Power, Psychological; D012648:Self Care / Q000523:psychology*; D012649:Self Concept