An empirical study of a model of self-care in chronic illness.

A descriptive correlational study was conducted to test the efficacy of the Model of Self-Care in Chronic Illness. The model, an adaption and extension of the Health Belief Model, was developed to describe and relate the variables that influence effective self-care among ambulatory chronically ill adults. Participants (n = 181) were randomly selected from the waiting lists of an ambulatory care clinic of a major military medical center. The research examined general self-care, i.e., behaviors to promote health and prevent illness, and therapeutic self-care, i.e., education, diet, and other behaviors prescribed for a specific illness. Self-concept was correlated significantly with general as well as medication and dietary self-care. Psychological status and general health motivations influence general self-care. Stepwise multiple regression analyses demonstrated that costs of medication, patients' psychological status and perceptions of the seriousness of their illnesses, and vulnerability to complications were significantly related to medication self-care, while costs and perceptions of seriousness and vulnerability were significantly related to dietary self-care.