The interaction model of client health behavior: application to the study of community-based elders.

The Interaction Model of Client Health Behavior (IMCHB) was used to direct a systematic and comprehensive description of community-based elders. The abstract concepts, constructs, factors, and variables described by one element of the model were able to account for 54% of the variance in elders' health status and 47% of the variance in their well-being. The model, as operationalized in this study, pointed to clear demographic, social, and health profiles that identified the elder at risk for decreased health, well-being, and self-care potential. The IMCHB would appear to be a useful framework with which to establish an empirical base on which nursing interventions could be developed.