Health care diaries of young women.

The purpose of this study was to describe young women's self-care activities related to health maintenance and symptom management. Seventy-six young adult women kept a daily health diary for 3 weeks. They reported a total of 1,213 health maintenance practices. The self-care interventions used to manage symptoms were varied and specific to the reported symptoms. The most frequently reported illness management activity was the use of over-the-counter medications. The self-care measures selected by these young women reflect deliberate approaches to their situations. The findings suggest that nurses in the community should use young adult health promoting and health maintaining behaviors as a basis for designing interventions.