Using a focus group study to explore perceptions of health-promoting self-care in community-dwelling older adults.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore perceptions of health-promoting self-care in community-dwelling older adults. A focus group was conducted to obtain the perceptions and experiences of older adults concerning health-promoting self-care in their daily lives. Twenty-one volunteers from a Golden-Age Association in Kaohsiung City, including 10 males and 11 females, agreed to participate in this study. The mean age of the participants was 73.5 years, with ages ranging from 67 to 83. Three focus group sessions were held and 21 participants participated in all three sessions. Each focus group session lasted from 2.5 to 3 hours. The sessions were audio tape recorded and then verbatim transcripts were used for content analysis. Through a peer discussion, 51 behavioral units were extracted and categorized as five major themes including "balancing", "initiating", "regularizing", "socializing", and "sublimating". The findings can contribute to basic nursing knowledge related to health-promoting self-care and provide the basis for designing nursing strategies to enhance health-promoting self-care for older adults in the community.