Universal self-care requisites as identified by homeless elderly men

1. Given the current economic climate, the number of homeless persons, and the nature of their needs, nurses must be prepared to facilitate movement of all homeless persons toward self-care. 2. Nurses can contribute to the self-care of homeless elderly men by recognizing and eliciting requisites, associated actions, and nursing interventions that reinforce meeting of needs. 3. Study results support Orem's proposition that universal self-care requisites are common to all individuals regardless of age, sex, developmental level, health state, or internal or external conditions. 4. A number of participant's statements used to formulate themes suggested a relationship to more than one category of universal self-care requisites, which suggests that the categories are not mutually exclusive.