Introduction: Colorectal cancer is the common cancer of the gastrointestinal tract. The main cause of death in these patients is reduced self-care. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Orem self-care model on the ability of patients for self-care.

Methods: This Clinical trial was conducted on two experimental and control groups. The experimental group comprised 70 patients with colorectal cancer referring to Imam Reza Hospital of Kermanshah in 2015. Sampling was done through available sampling method. Data collection instruments were demographic and "Study of Self-Care Activity" questionnaires. After gathering the necessary information, the care plan was implemented based on the Orem’s self-care framework to assess the knowledge, skills and self-care in both experimental and control groups. After two months of Orem self-care framework implementation, the patients were measured.

Results: The knowledge, skill and ability to care were moderate and low before the intervention and also showed no significant differences (P ≤ 0.05); but, after the intervention, the average value was listed (P ≥ 0.05). The Wilcoxon test showed the effectiveness of the implementation of Orem’s model in these patients (P =0.001).

Conclusions: The application of Orem’s self-care framework was a way to increase the knowledge, skill and ability to care in patients with colorectal cancer. It is proposed for increasing the care for these patients and to be used as a nursing intervention.