Self-Care Practices among Nurses in a General Hospital in North-Central Nigeria: A descriptive Exploratory Study
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2022
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM): Nigerian Journal of Nursing
Abstract
Introduction: Self-care is a vital component of nursing practice and is essential for the well-being of human beings, especially among patients and nurses. However, nurses and nursing students tend to focus more on the care of their patients and often pay little or no attention to personal self-care.
Aim/objectives: This study was therefore carried out to assess the self care practices among nurses in a General Hospital in North-central Nigeria.
Materials and methods: A descriptive research study design was adopted and a self-constructed questionnaire was used to collect data from a convenient sample of 111 nurses. Data was analyzed descriptively and inferentially, using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.
Results: Study participants are predominantly young females of the Yoruba ethnic extraction. The study shows that a relatively good level of physical self-care practice mainly in areas of diet, (fruits, fluid intake), exercise and good sleep; however,workload always or often hinders how well nurses are able to take care of themselves in about half of the nurses. Mental and spiritual self-care practices are found to have predominance of social, religious and spiritual activities, with slightly over half (50.9%) of them resorting more to prayers and meditations as forms of self-care.
Conclusion: The study shows a positive self care practices in areas of physical, mental, and spiritual care practices, with a rather a more neutral social self-care. The religious/spiritual predominance of self-care practices may reflect some societal realities of Nigeria as a once acclaimed “most religious countries on earth.” More in-depth studies are needed, with larger samples in various settings, to properly situate the levels and varieties of nurses’ self-care in Nigeria.
Description
A self care practice study among nurses, highlighting the need for self-management. The paper throws more light on the need to further research into the this issue
Keywords
Self-care practices, Nurses, Self-management, General Hospital, Kwara State, North-central Nigeria
Citation
Anyebe, E.E., Garba, S.N., Olubiyi, S.K., Jibril, U.N., Aluko, J.O. and Awoniyi, D.O. (2022). Self-Care Practices among Nurses in a General Hospital in North-Central Nigeria: A descriptive Exploratory Study, Nigerian Journal of Nursing, 9(2), 51-70