Self-care and mastery among primary health care patients.

In this paper the content of everyday mastery is described, and related background variables are analyzed. Health maintenance, self-care practices, coping resources and feelings of helplessness, as indicators of daily mastery, were studied among a group of 142 Finnish primary care patients using a two-week diary method. The main themes related to health maintenance, self-care, and coping resources were found to be: meaningfulness of life, social relations and togetherness, activities, recreation and enjoyment, discipline and good health, and treatment of symptoms and diseases. The most frequent causes of feelings of helplessness were: diseases and symptoms, discrepancies between demands and capabilities, and negative psychological and emotional states. When writing about mastery, women mentioned philosophy and faith, social relations and togetherness, as well as food and dieting more often than men. Women recorded more helplessness due to discrepancies between demands and capabilities and to negative psychological and emotional states, whereas men recorded more helplessness due to global, political, and societal conditions. Older people recorded philosophy and faith and lay care more frequently as sources of mastery more than younger people. Helplessness due to the discrepancies between demands and capabilities was more evident among older people.