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Objectives: This study aimed to develop and validate a generic, non-disease-specific, self-assessment measure that recognizes patients' health capacities and their empowering process of health promotion in chronic illness by using Bodyknowledging as the theoretical frame., Methods: Item generation and expert content validity analysis were the first steps in instrument development. Potential items were then validated in focus group interviews with six patients diagnosed with various chronic diseases. The research team reviewed the resulting items and undertook item reduction. A sample of adults (n = 357) with chronic disease surveyed the instrument items. Exploratory factor analysis with Oblimin rotation was conducted., Results: A 3-factor solution was identified: nine items on the regaining health and wellness subscale, seven items on the uncertainty and bereavement subscale, and eight items on the loss of control and distancing subscale. Cronbach alpha for the scale was .92. The final 24-item instrument is non-disease-specific and broadly applicable for use in health promotion within the context of chronic disease. The instrument demonstrates high internal consistency reliability with initial face and construct validity., Discussion: The new instrument has the potential for measuring patients' empowering process of health promotion in chronic disease and the outcomes of person-centered interventions and may guide clinicians in tailoring individual support., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Background: Two thirds of respondents of a recent survey, primarily self-identified urban immigrant Dominican females, indicated that cancer was the health problem they worried about the most., Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative study was to gain a greater understanding of the cancer worry experienced by Dominican women., Design: Giorgi's descriptive existential phenomenological framework and methodology guided the study., Setting: Washington Heights/Inwood community, New York City, New York., Participants: Thirty-eight urban Dominican immigrant women were included in the study., Method: Data were gathered using focus group interviews. All interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim from Spanish to English. The transcripts were analyzed using Giorgi's existential phenomenological data analysis process., Findings: Four essences unfolded: Cancer as Destiny, Faith, Influential Relationships, and Knowledge Acquisition., Conclusion: New knowledge was generated on the contextual factors that influence cancer worry among a major Hispanic subgroup. Implications for nursing research and practice are described.