Objective: To explore the elderly perspective on the meaning of self-care ability, self-care behavior, and factors related to selfcare ability among community-dwelling elderly.

Materials and Methods: A qualitative study was conducted among the elderly aged 60 years and over, living in the community. Thirty elderly participants were purposively selected for an in-depth interview until data-saturation. The tool was an in-depth interview guideline, which was validated by expert review. The in-depth interview dialogue was transcribed verbatim and analyzed by the content analysis technique.

Results: The meaning of self-care ability was “self-ability to perform activities” and “independence”. The present study found self-care behaviors among the elderly depend on the stage of illness and divided into two main themes, asymptomatic and symptomatic stage of the diseases. At the asymptomatic stage, the elderly practice self-care as health promotion behavior included physical, mental, and social self-care behaviors. In part of symptomatic stage of the diseases, there were several methods of selfcare depending on the severity of the illness. The present study also found factors related to self-care ability were the internal factors of the elderly and external factors. The internal factors of the elderly were elderly characteristics, physiological functions of the body system, dignity, belief, and health literacy. The external factors were the health care system, caregiver, and peer.

Conclusion: To promote the self-care ability of the elderly, understanding self-care ability from the perspective of the elderly should be a concern and be recognized. The modification factors for self-care ability should be developed to promote them in advance.

Keywords: Self-care ability, Self-care behavior, Elderly

Received 17 Jun 2019 | Revised 29 Aug 2019 | Accepted 5 Sep 2019