Factors Influencing Nurses' Self Care Practices.

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Public Health
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• COVID-19 pandemic increased stress and reduced self-care for nurses.
• Lack of self-care in nurses can lead to chronic health issues and burnout, impacting patient care.
• Promoting holistic self-care (physical, mental, social, spiritual) is crucial for nurse well-being.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore factors influencing self-care practices among registered nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• To identify barriers and facilitators to consistent self-care among nurses.
• To understand the impact of demographic factors on nurse self-care.

Main Methods:

• Convenience sampling of 294 nurses from four urban hospitals in Kingston, Jamaica.
• Data collected via questionnaire, analyzed using logistical regression (SPSS v22.0).
• Ethical approval was obtained prior to data collection.

Main Results:

• A 46% response rate was achieved (136 returned questionnaires).
• While 93% engaged in self-care, only 45% practiced daily; psychological/social self-care was less common.
• Excess workload, fatigue, lack of time, and poor pay were key barriers; demographic factors also influenced practices.

Conclusions:

• Nurse self-care practices require improvement for consistency and holistic engagement.
• Barriers like workload and low pay hinder regular self-care.
• Demographic characteristics significantly influence nurses' ability to practice self-care.