Conclusion
The results of this survey study among home-dwelling older people in rural areas in Norway revealed that more than three-fourths of the respondents had higher self-careability that was closely related to perceived health, health- related issues, self-care agency, mental health, nutritional state and sense of coherence. The instruments used for mapping different aspects in this study are based on theoretical assumptions that are somewhat inter-related, e.g. the importance of health preserving and enabling resources, ability to find meaning and purpose in life, to have a positive self-conception and the ability to act appropriately. Issues that especially explained self-care ability were risk factors like perceived helplessness, receiving family help, risk for undernutrition and impaired mental health, and reinforcing factors were self-care agency, activity and preparing food. When self-care ability is reduced in older people, caregivers have to be aware about how this can be expressed, and also be aware of their responsibility for identifying and mapping needs for appropriate support and help, and preventing unnecessary and unwanted dependency.
However, further studies are necessary to investigate self-care ability and related factors both in rural and urban
elucidate lived experiences of self-care and features that may influence health and self-care among older home- dwelling individuals to be able to give support.
Author contributions
The study was designed by Bjørg Dale, Ulrika So ̈derhamn and Olle So ̈ derhamn. Bjørg Dale and Ulrika So ̈ derhamn performed the data collection. Ulrika So ̈derhamn carried out the analyses. Bjørg Dale and Ulrika So ̈ derhamn drafted the manuscript and all authors revised it critically. Olle So ̈derhamn supervised the project. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Funding
The survey study was carried out with financial support from the Norwegian Research Council (project number 18785). The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
home-dwelling older people. Moreover, it is
important to