CONCEPT 1: SELF-CARE
Self-care is the ability of individuals, families and communities to promote health, prevent disease or maintain health and to cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a healthcare provider (WHO 2009). This concept is one of the key concepts identified by Orem (1985) on her theory of self-care deficit.
Although a complex and multidimensional phenomenon (Wilkinson & Whitehead 2009), it is part of daily life as those activities contributing to health and wellbeing (physical, mental, social and psychological) are derived from knowledge and skills from the pool of both professional and lay experience and used by individuals and families (WHO 1983). There are many relevance of self-care.
First, it reduces mortality and morbidity rates among patients. People with chronic conditions improve their health by managing specific health behaviours, a process that requires behaviour change (Ryan 2009).
A 19year follow up study of Jandorf et al (2015) on the impact of patient’s involvement in cooking on their mortality and morbidity shows that infrequent involvement in cooking for themselves (patients diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus) was associated with an increased risk of diabetes-related death and stroke for women, but not for men. In the writer’s opinion, acquisition of knowledge and skills will increase awareness of people’s health and recognition of serious symptoms from what is norm and therefore empower them to make take greater