Proper and Improper Self-Care Behaviors and Practices Affecting their Physical, Emotional, and

Mental Aspect Among Third Year Nursing Students at University of Baguio

Self-care is a process through which people accept requirement for their own specific wellbeing
perceiving how to advance it and what can harm it (Stenberg et al., 2016). World Health
Organization characterizes "self-care" as the capacity of people, families, and groups to promote
health, preventing disease, limiting illness, cope with illness and reestablishing health". The
scope of self-care incorporates physical, mental, emotional spiritual and professional wellness
(WHO, 2009). Self-care is also a part of lifestyle behavior which helps individuals to change their
way of life with a specific end goal to increase ideal health. Lifestyle contains the choices on diet
selection, exercise, wellbeing, and the actions that one makes to accomplish those decisions. It
enables a person to control his/her own particular health, to make one's full health potential
and to have a healthy lifestyle (Paudel et al., 2017). According to Berkowitz self-care enables
nurses to live fully, all the more rewarding lives and turn out to be better nurses as well. A
healthy nurse is one who effectively focuses on maintaining a balance of physical, intellectual,
emotional, social, spiritual, personal and professional well- being (Berkowitz, 2017).

Self-care habits also effect the performance of nursing students. It is a subjective sensation
related to physical and emotional pressures. Too much or too little stimulation can cause stress,
harm to mind and body, for example, depression, eating disorders (Gomathi et al., 2013).
Nursing students’ self-care habits are also related to their perceived level of stress. In nursing
students, stress plays a major role to fulfil self-care habits. Students neglect self- care due to
stress perceived at university level. Such stressors lead to poor eating behaviors, low concern for
healthy nourishment stress also effects the sleep habits due to depression and anxiety and
students are become anxious very easily (El Ansari et al., 2011). Stress is the cause of poor self-
care habits among nursing students. Undergraduate nursing students report high stress as
compared to others. Stress applies negative impacts on, physical health like uses of unhealthy
food and irregular sleeping patterns of undergraduate university students. Balancing exercise
and simultaneously adapting to stress is a problem for many students. Due to stress students
not participate in social events or another activities of university (VanKim et al., 2013).

Improper self-care habits of university student related to food consumption are particularly as
to low use of fruit, vegetables, milk, dairy items, fish, eggs, and pulses. Mostly students don’t
take seven to ten servings of fruits and vegetables per day. The excessive utilization of meat,
sausages, and sweets cause diabetes and obesity. Students developed these habits as living far
from home and perceived to have changed their dietary patterns while going to university. It is a
worldwide problem of university students to neglect healthy behavior towards dietary habits
(Lupi et al., 2015).

Majority of the students have poor self-care habits regarding intake of healthy food. They do not
take their breakfast at time. Few number of students never have their breakfast on a daily basis.
Most the students eat fast food and they think that they don't have sufficient time to do
breakfast at proper time. Which is major threat to their health and wellbeing. All these ill habits
are major cause of self-care deficits (Al-Shehri et al., 2017).

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World health organization defined that healthy balanced diet is a fundamental part to keeping
up physical and emotional wellness. Eating healthy diet is good for wellbeing it is the one way
that students reduce the impact of stressors on their health, allowing them to better care
themselves (WHO, 2016). Foods high in vitamins and protein are especially effective in
decreasing stress. Eat three balanced meals a day and 3 to 5 serving of fruits and vegetables per
day. Fruits, vegetables are high in Vitamin C, drink fresh juices daily, and drink enough water
every day (at least 1500ml). Healthy balanced diet beneficial ways for life to reduce fatigue,
physical movement, reduce stress, increase energy and especially improves learning
performance on their academic area (Reed, 2014).

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study will be essential to understand how nursing students ignore their self-care habits. This
research study will also be helpful to improve nursing student’s self-care habits through proper
nutrition, rest and sleep.  This study will help the university to develop strategies for
reducing/removing the identified factors that cause self-care deficit among nursing students. In
this way, punctuality and attendance of students will be improved.  This study will help to
improve the nursing practice regarding patient care. Nurses can care for their patients if care for
themselves first. So health of nurse is first priority. Lastly, This research will maintain the
standard of nursing profession through improved nursing practice and performance.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This study aims to answer the following questions:

* What are the self-care habits of third year nursing students in Univeristy of Baguio?

*How does bad self-care habits affect their overall performance?

*Why do they practice improper self-care habits?

METHODOLOGY

This study will use descriptive cross sectional study. Convenient, non-probability
sampling will be used for the data collection. 5 point Likert scale questionnaire adopted from
Jackson (2015) was used as a research tool. Questionnaire consist of 2 parts first consists on
demographic data of participant and second is Likert scale questionnaire which is further divided
into 4 subparts focusing on part 1 level of stress part 2 self- care habits towards food, part 3 self
-care habits related to sleep and rest, questionnaire comprises of 21 quantitative questions.

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