Self-care: A concept analysis.
Nicole Martínez, Cynthia D Connelly, Alexa Pérez and 1 others
PMID 34631992WHAT IT FOUND
Self-care is defined by awareness, self-control, and self-reliance.
Nurses can use these attributes to assess whether a patient can manage a wound, medication or chronic disease, and to target education and resources.
Key findings
01The analysis identified three defining attributes of self-care: awareness, self-control, and self-reliance.
02Antecedents were grouped into patient-related factors, such as self-efficacy, cognition, triggering event and self-care agency, and system-related factors, such as cultural factors, social support and access to resources.
03Consequences described included achievement of desired outcomes, decreased risk for complications, symptom control, decreased health services utilization, and increased patient satisfaction.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
It analysed published definitions, not patients, so it cannot show whether using awareness, self-control and self-reliance improves care. It included only English full-text academic articles from a defined search window, so relevant non-English or non-academic sources may be missing. The final attributes, cases and definitions are the authors' interpretation of selected articles, not measured patient outcomes. No single comprehensive self-care measure was identified, so assessing these attributes may require several instruments or clinical judgement.
Declared interests
Funded in part by the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists Foundation. The authors declared no known competing financial interests or personal relationships.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that teaching awareness, self-control and self-reliance improves patient outcomes. It is a concept analysis of definitions and attributes, not a trial or patient study.