Self-care of well adult Canadians and adult Canadians with end stage renal disease.

Empirical support for Orem's Self-Care Deficit Theory of Nursing [Orem, D.E., 1995. Nursing: Concepts of practice, 5th. ed. Mosby, Toronto] is accumulating. However, little is known about the relative usefulness of the theory with well and chronically ill adults. This research examined multiple relationships deduced from Orem's Theory in 109 well adults and 141 adults with end stage renal disease (ESRD). Relations among personality traits, gender, age, socioeconomic status, self-care agency, and self-care were examined. Qualitative and quantitative differences were evident for the two samples. For example, self-care agency was a stronger predictor of self-care in well adults. Implications for development of disease-specific, mid-range theory are explored.