Self-Care among Older Adults

OBJECTIVES: The authors hypothesize that older adults diagnosed with arthritis show a greater reliance on objective factors in their self-care behaviors, whereas those diagnosed with heart problems or hypertension demonstrate a greater reliance on more general belief-laden factors. METHODS: A total of 794 older adults (mean age = 69.3) who were professionally diagnosed with arthritis, heart problems, or hypertension completed a telephone survey about a number of aspects of their illness condition and their general well-being. RESULTS: The results from the hierarchical regression analyses indicate that objective factors and illness-specific beliefs are better predictors of self-care behavior in the arthritis group, whereas general beliefs (e.g., self-efficacy and general well-being) are better predictors of such behavior in the heart problems and hypertension groups. DISCUSSION: The analyses support the authors' hypothesis. The results are discussed in the context of expanding the Health Belief Model of self-care.