Self-care practices among professional nurses employed in primary health care clinics

Background: Professional nurses typically promote and advocate self-care practices to patients to achieve better health outcomes, but rarely engage in these practices themselves. Methods: A qualitative, descriptive phenomenological approach was used in this study. professional nurses employed in different primary health care facilities were purposively sampled. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect data, which were analysed using Colaizzi's data analysis strategy, and data saturation was reached. Results: Two themes were identified. Theme 1: the participants expressed that internal external factors compromised self-care practices, such as subconscious self-neglect, insufficient resources, and a depressed economy, which encouraged them to work extended hours. Theme 2: participants' holistic well-being was compromised, as they neglected mental well-being. Conclusion: Self-care practices among professional nurses seem unachievable. The extent this population's self-care neglect was evident during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic when professional nurses globally gave of themselves relentlessly. Contribution: : This is the first study conducted on the topic in the City of Ekurhuleni, and findings will provide relevant stakeholders with a directive on what strategies, policies, guidelines to develop and implement to make self-care practices attainable for professional nurses.