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Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine pp 1–2Cite as

Self-Care

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Synonyms

Self-management

Definition

Self-care as described by Orem (1995) is “action of persons who have developed or developing capabilities to use appropriate, reliable and valid measures to regulate their own functioning and development in stable or changing environments” (p. 43). Self-care is both caring “for” oneself and “by” oneself. Self-care promotes well-being and is a perceived condition of personal existence characterized by experiences of contentment, pleasure, and happiness. It is associated with health and with sufficiency of resources. This definition is consistent with Diener’s (2009) concept of subjective well-being as an individual’s global judgment of values and standards that are significant to life satisfaction.

A paradigm that is emerging in health-care delivery for people with chronic conditions is that they are their own principal caregivers; health-care professionals act as consultants and advisors in supporting them in self-care and self-management of their...

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References and Further Readings

  • Bodenheimer, T., Lorig, K., Holman, H., & Grumbach, K. (2002). Patient self-management of chronic disease in primary care. Journal of the American Medical Association, 288, 2469–2475.

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  • Diener, E. (2009). The science of well-being, (Social indicators book series, Vol. 37). New York: Springer.

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  • Orem, D. E. (1995). Nursing: Concepts and practice (6th ed.). St. Louis: Mosby.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Nursing, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 701 Highland Avenue, 53705, Madison, WI, USA

    Linda C. Baumann

  2. Allina Health System, St. Paul, MN, USA

    Alyssa Ylinen

Authors
  1. Linda C. Baumann
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  2. Alyssa Ylinen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Linda C. Baumann .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, USA

    Marc Gellman

  2. Campbell University School of Pharmacy, Buies Creek, North Carolina, USA

    J. Rick Turner

Section Editor information

  1. Behavioral Medicine Research Center, Department of Psychology, University of Miami, 1120 N.W. 14th Street, 33136, Miami, FL, USA

    Marc D. Gellman

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© 2017 Springer Science+Business Media LLC

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Baumann, L.C., Ylinen, A. (2017). Self-Care. In: Gellman, M., Turner, J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_144-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_144-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-6439-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6439-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference MedicineReference Module Medicine

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