Self-care agency in persons with rheumatoid arthritis.
Using a framework based on Orem's self-care deficit theory, five hypotheses related to conditioning factors in self-care agency were tested. The study sample consisted of 60 outpatients with a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis in a large research hospital. Patients completed the Exercise of Self-Care Agency instrument and the Health Assessment Questionnaire; a physician rated their arthritis severity. Twenty percent of subjects had high scores on self-care agency, 63% had average scores, and 16% had low scores. The conditioning factor of age was not related to self-care agency. However, education and the duration of illness were related to self-care agency in this group of persons with rheumatoid arthritis.
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D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000145:classification / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016294:Models, Nursing; D012648:Self Care / Q000523:psychology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013997:Time Factors