Nurses' perceptions of self-management in renal care

Self-management is vital for patients with long-term conditions in order to ensure wellbeing. It needs to be supported by a healthcare workforce who are knowledgeable and able to work in collaboration with individuals. In this study, ten nurses were selected by means of exclusion/inclusion criteria and then interviewed with a semi-structured approach. Following analysis of the data with an open, axial and selective coding process, clear themes emerged: expectation of roles, lack of confidence and concerns with risk-taking. There were a number of concerns around engaging with self-management for this group of nurses, including a lack of knowledge and skills to assess the suitability of patients for self-management and subsequently to offer support, and concerns that self-management would be too unsafe in a renal setting. This study suggests that nurses would need education in strategies to support and implement self-management. Further studies should be undertaken to explore this possibility with renal patients admitted to the ward.