The Investigation of Factors That Influence Self-Care Agency and Daily Life Activities Among the Elderly in the Northern Region of Turkey

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to determine the factors that influence self-care agency and daily life activities among the elderly in the northern region of Turkey. Methods: This study of 372 elderly individuals was conducted between October 13, 2007, and January 25, 2008. The data obtained in this study was collected via a questionnaire and the Katz Basic Activities of Daily Living Scale and Exercise of Self-Care Agency Scale. Descriptive statistics, Student's t-tests, one-way analysis of variance, and multiple regression analysis were used to evaluate the data. Results: Regression analysis performed to determine the effects of sociodemographic and clinical features on the self-care agency of the elderly revealed a statistically significant negative relationship. The multiple regression correlation coefficient of this model was R=0.635, and the corrected R2 value was 0.23. This model determined the self-care agency score of the elderly participants as 23%. The model is statistically significant (p<0.05). Conclusions: The scores obtained in this study indicate that the majority of the elderly participants were independent; their levels of self-care agency were determined as falling within the middle level. © 2014 Australian College of Nursing Ltd.