• Lois K Baker and Mary J Denyes.
• Cedarville University, Cedarville, OH 45314, USA. bakerl@cedarville.edu
• J Pediatr Nurs. 2008 Feb 1; 23 (1): 37-48.

AbstractPediatric nurses often struggle to find ways to encourage adolescents with cystic fibrosis (CF) to engage in self-care that is essential to their health and life. A study of predictors of self-care was conducted to provide a stronger evidence base for nursing practice with these youth. Orem's theories of self-care and self-care deficit were tested to explain and predict the universal and health deviation self-care of 123 adolescents with CF. Four dimensions of self-care agency emerged as predictors of universal self-care, two of which were also predictive of health deviation self-care. Seventy percent of the variance or change in universal self-care scores and 40% of health deviation self-care variance were explained. Clarification and extension of Orem's theories were also an important outcome. Development of nursing interventions designed to strengthen predictors of universal and health deviation-specific self-care identified in this research holds the potential to improve length and quality of life for adolescents with CF.

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