Self-care agency refers to

Self-care agency refers to

• A. The individual's ability to perform self-care activities
• B. The nurse's ability to perform self-care for the patient
• C. The family's ability to make decisions
• D. The environment's influence on self-care

Answer: (A)

Self-care agency is the individual's capacity to identify self-care needs and perform the actions required to meet them. In nursing theory, this power comes from a person’s knowledge, skills, motivation, and ability to learn, enabling them to manage health and maintain well-being. Therefore, describing the person’s ability to perform self-care activities best captures this concept. The nurse’s role is to support or teach to enhance this agency, while decisions made by the family or the influence of the environment are separate factors that can enable or hinder self-care but do not define the person’s own capacity to perform it.

Self-care agency is the individual's capacity to identify self-care needs and perform the actions required to meet them. In nursing theory, this power comes from a person’s knowledge, skills, motivation, and ability to learn, enabling them to manage health and maintain well-being. Therefore, describing the person’s ability to perform self-care activities best captures this concept. The nurse’s role is to support or teach to enhance this agency, while decisions made by the family or the influence of the environment are separate factors that can enable or hinder self-care but do not define the person’s own capacity to perform it.