Perceptual and enactment measurement of self-care

The concept of self-care was conceptualized as having three major components: enabling perceptual elements (motivation, values, responsibility, and decision making); domains for enactment (cognitive/ perceptual, psychosocial/affective, and physical functioning); and self-care enactment factors (capacity), which included self-care action and knowledge adequate for self-care. A new tool, The Self-Care Agency Inventory, was designed to discriminate between those who will enact self-care and those who will not because of either a lack of knowledge or a lack of motivation. Content validity was demonstrated (.77 or greater from each scale) and concurrent validity documented. Alpha reliability for the new scale and principal components factor analysis of the scale items did not achieve desired levels, although a pilot sample demonstrated test-retest reliability of .82. The conceptual model is presented.