Self-care after traumatic injury and the use of the therapeutic self care scale in trauma populations.

AIMS

To report a correlational study of the relationship between gender, age, severity of injury, length of hospital stay and self-care behaviour in patients with traumatic injuries.

BACKGROUND

This study may provide a foundation for targeted nursing intervention and education programmes to help patients better recover from their injury, which is a fundamental aspect of nursing.

DESIGN

A longitudinal cohort study.

METHOD

This study of patients hospitalized for traumatic injury was conducted from May 2006-November 2007. The Therapeutic Self Care Scale along with demographic and clinical data, were completed at 3 and 6 months after hospital discharge. Using data from the 3-month survey, the validity and reliability of the scale was calculated. Multiple regression was used to identify predictors of self-care at 3 and 6 months.

FINDING

Participants (n = 125) completed the questionnaire at 3 months and 103 participants completed it at 6 months. Self-care was high on both occasions and high self-care at 3 months was related to high self-care at 6 months. Older participants reported higher self-care at 3 months compared with younger patients. Factor analysis of the scale revealed three clear components; taking medication, recognition and managing symptoms and managing changes in health conditions, which explained a total of 59·8% of the variance. The 10-item revised scale was reliable.

CONCLUSION

The findings indicate that self-care remains fairly high and stable in the first 6 months after trauma. The revised Therapeutic Self Care Scale was valid and reliable in the trauma population.