Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Fragile children who were once called; “terminal cases” nowadays are able to live, due to technical advances; although they are requiring permanent assistance. This study aimed to identify the levels of self-care behavior of school-age medically fragile Jordanian children.
 
 METHODS & MATERIAL: A cross-sectional design using Orem self-care behavior questionnaire to measure the level of self-care behavior of 96 medically fragile children in capital city (Amman), who hospitalized at least once at the affiliated hospitals.  
 
 RESULT: 63. 3%, n=61 children had high level of self-care behavior with overall mean = 62.3 SD=20. ANOVA and Tukey’s post hoc comparisons of the three groups indicate that the level of self care behavior at the late school age 12-14 years old (mean = 71.56, SD = 4.71) and the early school age 6-9 years (mean = 67.05, SD = 4.73) reported significantly higher than the middle school age 10-12 years old (mean 66.95, SD = 4.37), p = .001. A round half of the children complaining of respiratory disease 42.7%, n=41.
 
 CONCLUSION: Performing nursing interventions and providing proper discharge plans for school age children and home care for medically fragile children will be based according to the self-care behavior level.
Highlights
Fragile children who were once called; “terminal cases” nowadays are able to live, due to technical advances; they are requiring permanent assistance
Performing nursing interventions and providing proper discharge plans for school age children and home care for medically fragile children will be based according to the self-care behavior level
The current study showed the high level of self-care in Jordanian fragile school-age children, consistent with the findings of Luo (2003) who studied self-care practices in nephritic syndrome school-age children
Summary
Fragile children who were once called; “terminal cases” nowadays are able to live, due to technical advances; they are requiring permanent assistance. Several sick children who frequent hospitalized are those needing for a great deal of caring. In general children consist part of a growing population, who, as recently as, could not have survived, due to “life-threatening problems” nowadays are able to live, even though requiring permanent assistance as a result of technical advances. These children are frequently defined as “medically fragile (Cohen et al, 2010; Spratling, 2013).”
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