title: Women's self-perception and self-care practice: implications for health care delivery.
abstract: Mexican American women experience unique health care needs related to integration of Mexican and American cultures. To learn how to better promote self-care practices and service utilization in women of Mexican origin living in Texas, researchers used a qualitative approach to interview a convenience sample of 11 low-income women attending a health clinic. Researchers collected narrative data about the women's perceptions of health, wellness, and self-care. Using the matrix approach described by Miles and Huberman, we organized findings around women's roles, including participants' descriptions of themselves, their health and wellness awareness, self-care practices for health/illness and wellness/nonwellness, barriers to self-care, origin of self-care practices, and perceptions of life control. Implications for health planning and service delivery are presented.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston 77555-1029, USA. nmendias@utmb.edu
authors.forename: E P
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Mendias
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: E B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Guevara
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006285:Health Planning; D006293:Health Promotion; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D017058:Mexican Americans / Q000523:psychology*; D020380:Needs Assessment / Q000458:organization & administration*; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D011203:Poverty / Q000523:psychology; D012648:Self Care / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012649:Self Concept; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013781:Texas; D014930:Women / Q000523:psychology*; D016387:Women's Health; D014932:Women's Health Services / Q000592:standards*