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Commentary on “Self-Care Activities Captured Through Discussion Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults”

Letvak, S. (2007). Commentary on " self-care activities captured through discussion among community dwelling elders. The purpose of Dunn and Riley-Doucet's study was to identify holistic self-care activities used to maintain health by older adults. Four focus groups were held to collect data from 28 older adults who were recruited from an urban senior center and senior housing complex. The majority of the participants were non-White (61%) women (79%). The study was guided by Dossey, Keegan, and Guzzetta's (2000) holistic nursing model. Interview questions were developed based on the model and were specific to biological, psychological, social, and spiritual dimensions of holistic being. Data on self-care activities were coded as " doing activities " or " being activities " within these four dimensions. The five themes that described holistic well-being included having faith ways, positive energy, support systems, wellness activities, and affirmative self-appraisal. A focus group methodology was appropriate for gathering research data. Loeb, Penrod, and Hupcey (2006) stated that focus groups are an efficient and effective way of gathering data from older adults and are especially useful for uncovering attitudes and beliefs that may not have been discovered from surveys and individual interviews. The researchers stated that men were underrepresented in the first two focus groups and were not speaking freely. Indeed, a review of Table 1 shows that there was only one man in each of the first two groups (Dunn & Riley-Doucet, 2007). Loeb et al. stated that mixed-gender groups must have at least 2 of each gender to promote comfort for open discussion. Although an additional focus group was held, only 3 men were present. Thus, the male voice may not be as clearly heard in this study. This study makes an important contribution to holistic nursing practice by identifying activities used by older adults for maintaining health and well-being. Approximately 80% of older adults in the United States have at least one chronic condition, and another 50% have 2 or more (National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 2004). Despite nursing's claim to a holistic idea of health, the medical model continues to influence the promotion of healthy behaviors. Thus, understanding the holistic self-care activities older adults are currently using is important for nurses in determining effective health promotion strategies. The researchers identify self-care activities that holistic nurses may wish to use with their older adult clients. Faith ways, including going to church …