Self-care: A Concept Analysis
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Student’s Name
Self-care
Self-care can be defined as activities performed independently by an individual to promote and maintain a person’s health. It is supported by Dorothea E. Orem’s Self-Care Deficit Nursing Theory (Hartweg, 2015). According to Dehkordi, the defining attributes are education whereby the patient needs to be well informed on potential health problems and nursing practices that empower them (Dehkordi, 2016), interaction as there is communication between the patient and the nurse; as it is the nurse that develops and produces the nursing care practices which is supported by the theory of nursing system; and self-reliance, whereby the knowledge and skills learned by the individual, enable them to be self-sufficient (supported by the theory of self-care).
The theory is preceded by Hartnett-Rauckhorst’s theoretical models which pioneered structural features of the process of voluntary human action in nursing care. Consequentially, the development of self-care models by nurses that aim in aiding home-based self-care practices for patients of all ages from adolescence to old age was developed.
An example of a model case is when a patient has been admitted for long due to myocardial infarction. His treatment has been administered by nurses while in hospital but his discharge soon approaches. The nurse explains to the patient how to continue taking his medication while at home and advises on lifestyle changes the patient needs to make to maintain their health. This demonstrates education, interaction, and self-reliance.
Among the theoretical applications, Parker identifies a model which has 5 stages for nursing science development (Parker, 2015). Each stage is intended to yield different kinds of knowledge of persons with existent or potential self-care deficits. Self-Care Deficit Nursing Theory hence provides direction to researchers who aim to focus their inquiry on theory-based research (Melnyk, 2011 ).
I am therefore satisfied that self-care is a key pillar in nursing practice as there are a lot of individuals with nursing care needs but a limited amount of nurses to meet said needs.
References
Hartnett-Rauckhorst, L. (1968). Development of a theoretical model for the identification of nursing requirements in a selected aspect of self-care. Unpublished master’s thesis, Catholic University of America, Washington, DC.
Hartweg, D. L. (2015). Dorothea Orem’s self-care deficit nursing theory. Nursing theories and nursing practice, 105-132.
Hasanpour-Dehkordi, A. (2016). Self-care concept analysis in cancer patients: An evolutionary concept analysis. Indian journal of palliative care, 22(4), 388.
Melnyk, B. M., & Fineout-Overholt, E. (2011). Evidence-based practice in nursing and healthcare: A guide to best practice (2nd ed.). Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.
Parker, M. E., & Smith, M. C. (2015). Nursing theories and nursing practice (4th ed.). F. A. Davis Company.