• focusing on illness needs by learning about the illness and taking responsibility for meeting related health care needs
• making use of resources for health care, as well as psychological, spiritual, social, and environmental support
• living with the chronic illness by processing emotions, adjusting to the illness and the “new normal,” making practical lifestyle modifications, and striving for personal growth and satisfaction
Echoing a similar theme, one theory of self-care in chronic illness emphasizes that it is crucial for patients to make evidence-based decisions and to thoroughly evaluate a variety of intervention options.9
In providing support for patients’ self-management, it’s important to consider the context of care and the power dynamics associated with the traditional, paternalistic, biomedical model of health care.10, 11 In other words, patients with a chronic disease are likely to develop some expertise in managing their illness, and when nurses encourage that, rather than viewing the patient as “noncompliant, questioning, or know it all,” nurses support self-management.11 However, it is important to bear in mind that numerous factors influence patients’ self-management capacity, and patients cannot be expected to manage a chronic condition entirely on their own.
SELF-MANAGING INCONTINENCE