title: Self-care after traumatic injury and the use of the therapeutic self care scale in trauma populations.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To report a correlational study of the relationship between gender, age, severity of injury, length of hospital stay and self-care behaviour in patients with traumatic injuries.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  This study may provide a foundation for targeted nursing intervention and education programmes to help patients better recover from their injury, which is a fundamental aspect of nursing.
  
  
  METHODS
  A longitudinal cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study of patients hospitalized for traumatic injury was conducted from May 2006-November 2007. The Therapeutic Self Care Scale along with demographic and clinical data, were completed at 3 and 6 months after hospital discharge. Using data from the 3-month survey, the validity and reliability of the scale was calculated. Multiple regression was used to identify predictors of self-care at 3 and 6 months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Participants (n = 125) completed the questionnaire at 3 months and 103 participants completed it at 6 months. Self-care was high on both occasions and high self-care at 3 months was related to high self-care at 6 months. Older participants reported higher self-care at 3 months compared with younger patients. Factor analysis of the scale revealed three clear components; taking medication, recognition and managing symptoms and managing changes in health conditions, which explained a total of 59·8% of the variance. The 10-item revised scale was reliable.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings indicate that self-care remains fairly high and stable in the first 6 months after trauma. The revised Therapeutic Self Care Scale was valid and reliable in the trauma population.
authors.affiliation: NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Nursing Interventions for Hospitalised Patients, Research Centre for Clinical and Community Practice Innovation, Griffith Health Institute, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chaboyer
authors.forename: Mona
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ringdal
authors.forename: Leanne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Aitken
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kendall
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012648:Self Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012737:Sex Factors; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000451:nursing*