Self-care behaviours and practices of professional nurses working in primary health care clinics

Self-care behaviours and practices of professional nurses working in primary health care clinics

Background Historically, the nursing profession focused on caring for patients, families and communities but neglected aspects of self-care. Self-care is essential for nurses, as it could impact the quality of care nurses render to patients. Aim This article investigated professional nurses' se...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:African journal of primary health care & family medicine Vol. 15; no. 1; p. 4188
Main Authors: Muhlare, Mukelani L, Downing, Charlene
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Cape Town African Online Scientific Information Systems (Pty) Ltd t/a AOSIS 2023
AOSIS (Pty) Ltd
AOSIS
AOSIS Publishing
Subjects:
behaviour
Biology
Clinics
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
Data collection
Data entry
Environmental factors
Food
Health care
Health Care Sciences & Services
Health facilities
Likert scale
Medical care
Medical personnel
Medicine, General & Internal
Natural foods
Nurses
Nursing education
orem’s self-care theory
Original Research
Pandemics
Patient satisfaction
Pilot projects
practices
Primary care
primary health care
professional nurses
Professionals
Questionnaires
Research methodology
Sample size
self-care
South Africa
Work environment
Working conditions
South Africa
Orem's self-care theory
primary health care
behaviour
professional nurses
practices
self-care
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Description
Summary:Background Historically, the nursing profession focused on caring for patients, families and communities but neglected aspects of self-care. Self-care is essential for nurses, as it could impact the quality of care nurses render to patients. Aim This article investigated professional nurses' self-care behaviours and practices in primary health care clinics. Setting The study was conducted at selected primary health care facilities (clinics) in regions C and D of the city of Johannesburg, Gauteng. Methods A cross-sectional descriptive research survey. Stratified random sampling was used to select respondents. A demographic questionnaire, Self-Care Activities Screening Scale (SASS-14), Nature of Supportive Work Environment questionnaire and Self-Care Work and Home Environmental Factors (SWHEF) questionnaire were combined as the data collection instrument for this study. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the collected data. Results The finding revealed health consciousness: 86.6% of professional nurses were alert to changes in their health, and 75.2% constantly examined their health. The average professional nurse slept only 7-8 h every day. While 59.4% of professional nurses who participated in the study seldom ate healthy foods (i.e. foods with less sugar, salt, fried snacks or pre-cooked food), 71.7% rarely ate three fruits and two portions of vegetables daily. Only 57.4% of professional nurses regularly drank eight recommended glasses of water daily. Conclusion According to the findings, primary health care nurses must prioritise self-care and work in supportive environments. Contribution The study acknowledged the need to promote self-care and supportive work environments for professional nurses in primary health care setting.
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ISSN:2071-2928
2071-2936
2071-2936
DOI:10.4102/phcfm.v15i1.4188