The exercise of self-care agency scale

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Self-Care
• Cross-Cultural Studies

Background:

• Self-care is crucial for nursing students' well-being and professional practice.
• Understanding cultural perceptions of self-care is vital for international nursing research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the perceptions of self-care agency among nursing students in Japan.
• To compare these perceptions with those of students in the United States and Sweden.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a translated Japanese version of Kearney and Fleischer's self-care agency instrument.
• Administered the instrument to 461 nursing and early childhood education students.
• Analyzed psychometric properties of the Japanese instrument.

Main Results:

• The Japanese version of the self-care agency instrument demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties.
• Initial findings allow for comparison with international nursing student self-care perceptions.

Conclusions:

• Cross-cultural comparisons of self-care agency perceptions are feasible and informative.
• Results inform international nursing research directives on self-care agency.