Matching Items (2)
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Description
Self-care is essential to the well-being of nurses and the safety of their patients. Current literature is lacking research in regard to the self-care practices of school nurses. School nurses are susceptible to burnout and compassion fatigue, which is a form of burnout, from the many stressors they face. Self-care

Self-care is essential to the well-being of nurses and the safety of their patients. Current literature is lacking research in regard to the self-care practices of school nurses. School nurses are susceptible to burnout and compassion fatigue, which is a form of burnout, from the many stressors they face. Self-care is needed to reduce the occurrence of burnout and improve the safety of those under their care. The purpose of this research is to assess the current self-care practices of school nurses so further research and interventions can take place. The theoretical framework used is Jean Watson’s Theory of Human Caring, which has a core concept of cultivating spiritual practices toward a wholeness of one’s mind, body and spirit and a core principal of changing oneself, others, and surrounding environments through care. The research questions this study investigates are, “What are the most common self-care practices of school-nurses?” and, “What are the least common self-care practices of school nurses?” The 40-item Self-Care Questionnaire, from The Institute for Functional Medicine, was used. It uses a Likert-type scale, with response options ranging from 0 (never) to 5 (always). This questionnaire includes four domains—physical, mental/emotional/spiritual, professional life/work/career, and social life/family/relationships—each containing 10 items. Survey results of 82 research participants were uploaded to SPSS 25. Results show that school nurses most frequently engage in professional self-care and least frequently engage in physical self-care. It is strongly recommended that the data from this study be made available to school nurses and that further research be conducted to deeply assess how the self-care practices of school nurses can be improved.
ContributorsHicks, Kieley Jordan (Author) / Jaurigue, Lisa (Thesis director) / Schmidt, Cheryl (Committee member) / Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
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Description
Background: Cancer impacts the lives of millions of patients, families and caregivers annually
leading to chronic stress, a sense of powerlessness, and decreased autonomy. Social support may improve health empowerment and lead to increased perception of well-being.

Purpose: The purpose of this project was to evaluate the effectiveness of social support provided

Background: Cancer impacts the lives of millions of patients, families and caregivers annually
leading to chronic stress, a sense of powerlessness, and decreased autonomy. Social support may improve health empowerment and lead to increased perception of well-being.

Purpose: The purpose of this project was to evaluate the effectiveness of social support provided by a cancer support agency on health empowerment and perceived well-being in adults impacted by cancer.

Conceptual Framework: The Health Empowerment Theory maintains that perceived wellbeing is the desired outcome; mediated by health empowerment through social support, personal growth, and purposeful participation in active goal attainment.

Methods: Twelve adults impacted by cancer agreed to complete online questionnaires at
baseline and at 12 weeks after beginning participation in social support programs provided by a cancer support agency.
Instruments included: Patient Empowerment Scale, The Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (SWEMWBS), and The Office of National Statistics (ONS) Subjective Well-Being Questions.

Results: Four participants completed pre and post surveys. An increase was seen in
empowerment scores (pre M = 1.78, SD = 0.35 and post M = 3.05, SD = 0.42). There was no
increase in perceived well-being: SWEMWBS pre (M= 3.71, SD= 0.76), post (M= 3.57, SD=
0.65); ONS pre (M= 7.69, SD= 1.36), post (M= 6.59, SD= 1.52).

Implications: The data showed an increase in health empowerment scores after utilizing social support programs, lending support to the agency’s support strategies. It is recommended that the measures be included in surveys routinely conducted by the agency to continue to assess the impact of programming on health empowerment, and perceived well-being.
ContributorsO'Rourke, Suzanne (Author) / Velasquez, Donna (Thesis advisor)
Created2017-05-03