Year: 2016
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Chronic Venous Leg Ulcers (CVLU) have been overlooked as a chronic condition in the U.S. CVLU is characterized by cycles of healing and ulcer recurrence and debilitating symptoms.Ulcer management is typically directed by health care providers and organizational guidelines with the person often a passive recipient of care.Encouraging self-care in this population may alleviate the burden.Orem's Self-Care Deficit Nursing Theory was used to guide an examination of the relationship between symptoms, power, and CVLU self-care in a population of individuals with CVLU.Measurement tools include the symptom subscale of the Venous Insufficiency Epidemiological and Economic Study-Quality of Life and Symptom Severity (VEINES-QOL/Sym) providing information about types and frequency of symptoms, the Appraisal of Self-Care Agency Scale-Revised (ASAS-R) to measure power, and the CVLU Self-Care survey to measure the level of self-care performed.Data for a final sample of 83 adults was used in the the analysis.Findings indicated that symptoms were not associated with power or self-care.Power was not a mediator between symptoms and CVLU self-care with analysis with and without the inclusion of the covariates income, education, number of comorbidities, and chronicity of the leg ulcer.There was a significant moderate to strong positive correlation between the total power score and total CVLU self-care score.A high frequency of symptoms was found in this population but there was no relationship between symptoms and individual's assessment of capability for self-care or performance of self-care.iv Self-care activities related to reducing leg edema were low.Identifying individuals with low levels of power or low levels of self-care will facilitate programs and nursing interventions to improve self-care in this population.
Author: Collette LaValey
Institution: University of Akron
Language: English
Subfield: Surgery
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2596350271