Self-care by discalced carmelite nuns in the light of Orem's Theory

To understand the perception of self-care by contemplative nuns residing in a Discalced Carmelite Monastery.

Descriptive, exploratory study, with a qualitative approach, conducted in a Discalced Carmelite Monastery in Minas Gerais state. Data collection from nuns was performed in January 2018 through a questionnaire on their sociodemographic profile and a semi-structured interview script. The interviews were transcribed, reviewed, and submitted to content analysis.

Twenty nuns took part in this study. Three categories emerged: self-care comprehension, how self-care is practiced and what should be done to improve self-care. One subcategory was selected from each thematic category. Subcategories were, respectively, care of others, nutrition, and exercise. Nuns were seen to understand self-care as care of others, practicing it mostly through nutrition while considering exercise a point to be improved.

Nuns were found to understand what self-care is in its essence and to perform it. However, their priority is to provide care of others as a form of mutual care, which impacts on self-care.