0156
SELF-CARE BEHAVIOR OF SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN WITH HEART
DISEASES Fan Ling, Pediatric Department, Second Teaching Hospital, China
Medical University, Liaoning, China Objective: This descriptive
study was conducted to identify the level of self-care behaviors of
school-age children with heart diseases. Methods: Orem's self-care
theory was used as conceptual framework. A purposive sampling method was
used to select 82 school-age children with heart diseases admitted at least
once in three hospitals and attending Out-patient Department of three
hospitals in Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, China. Medical Record Form,
Demographic Form, and Self-care Behaviors of School-age Children with Heart
Diseases Questionnaire (SBSCHDQ) were used to collect data. Panel of
experts tested the validity of the instruments and Content Validity Index
was .83. The reliability of the instrument was tested from which the
Cronbach's Alpha was .74. Descriptive statistics in terms of frequency,
percentage, mean, standard deviation, and range were used to analyze the
data. Results: 1.The majority of the
school-age children with heart diseases have moderate level of self-care
behaviors. 2. The majority of subjects have moderate level of self-care
behaviors in universal, developmental, and health deviation dimensions. 3.
The school-age children with heart diseases whose heart function are in class I have high
level of self-care behaviors, and the school-age children whose heart
function are in class II and III have moderate level of self-care
behaviors. Moreover, the subjects whose heart function are in class III
have lower level of self-care behaviors than those whose heart function are
in class II. Conclusion: The findings of this
study provide useful information for nurses to understand self-care
behaviors of school-age children with heart diseases. The findings also
assist nurses to perform nursing interventions and provide proper discharge
plan to this population. Replications of this study in a large sample size
and different settings are recommended.