Self-care practices among young adult married women.

The purpose of this study was to explore the universal and illness-related, self-care activities employed by young adult women. Ninety-six women 20 to 40 years of age kept a daily health diary for 3 weeks in which they reported their regular health care, symptoms experienced each day, and self-care actions in response to symptoms. Women reported a total of 1,140 universal self-care activities over the 3-week period. Vitamin use accounted for over half of the self-care activities, with contraceptive use and prescription medications each accounting for 15% to 20% of universal self-care activities. The women engaged in a total of 464 illness-related, self-care activities. Self-care patterns revealed a variety of self-care measures and coping with symptoms in ways specific to the symptoms.