Testing Orem's Theory with Mexican Americans

Abstract

Through the use of theory-verification criteria, inductive methods of research can be used to test or verify theory. The testing of nursing theory with diverse populations is an important direction for continued theory development. Use of evaluation criteria can serve as a template for inclusion of diverse perspectives.

Self-Care Among Chronically Ill African Americans: Culture, Health Disparities, and Health Insurance Status

“…Although indigenous traditions of self-care were present among African Americans from their arrival in the United States, 6 civil rights emancipatory projects focused on protesting the exclusionary, dehumanizing, and stratified nature of medical particularly influential and is the subject of ongoing empirical refinement and investigations of cross-cultural applicability. [16][17][18][19] Orem defined self-care as learned behavior that was purposeful, with patterned and sequenced actions, and suggested that individuals acquire the capacity for self-care during childhood, principally in the family, where cultural standards are learned and transmitted intergenerationally. 15(p95) She observed that self-care develops throughout the life course, and that such behavior varies according to an individual's group affiliation in habits, beliefs, and practices that constitute a cultural way of life.…”

A Theory of Dependent-Care: A Corollary Theory to Orem’s Theory of Self-Care

“…That is, through being taken care of, I learn to care for myself, and at the same time I am learning to care for another. This parallel development is most obvious in cultures where DC is highly valued such as in the Mexican-American home where care of others is frequently demonstrated (Villarruel & Denyes, 1997). Some capacity for and engagement in SC are necessary for DC.…”