Self-care among older adults: an analysis of the objective and subjective illness contexts

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.

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.

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.

The analyses support the authors' hypothesis. The results are discussed in the context of expanding the Health Belief Model of self-care.