Self-Care Practices among Healthcare Workers in Emergency Units in Selected Hospitals Nyeri County, Kenya.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47941/ijhss.3521Keywords:
Adversity Quotient (AQ), Psychological Wellbeing, Self-Care Practices, Healthcare WorkersAbstract
Purpose: This study investigated the influence of Adversity Quotient (AQ) on the psychological wellbeing of healthcare workers in emergency units within selected public hospitals in Nyeri County, Kenya.
Methodology: Data were collected via structured questionnaires and focus group discussions from a census sample of 220 healthcare workers across three hospitals, with a 90% response rate (n=198). Validated instruments measured AQ dimensions (Control, Ownership, Reach, Endurance), psychological wellbeing, and related constructs.
Findings: Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS version 26, with descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, ANOVA, and regression analyses. presents frequency-based responses on engagement with self-care. The highest reported frequency was for the statement "How regularly do you believe self-care improves your ability to cope at work?" with a mean of M = 3.30 (SD = 1.26). This implies that respondents recognize the value of self-care. The correlation analysis revealed a statistically significant positive correlation between Self-Care Practices and Psychological Well-being (r = 0.52, p < 0.001). This indicates that healthcare workers who reported higher engagement in self-care practices also reported higher levels of psychological well-being. In summary there is need for self-care practices also showed a significant positive correlation with psychological well-being (r = 0.52, p < 0.001), accounting for 27% of its variance.
Contributions: Spirituality and mindfulness were the most common practices, while more demanding activities like physical exercise and setting work-life boundaries were less frequent. Develop and integrate targeted, practical training programs into professional development. These should focus on building the strongest predictors of well-being identified in this study: intrinsic coping skills (e.g., cognitive reframing, emotion regulation) and proactive strategies (e.g., adaptive problem-solving).
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Copyright (c) 2026 Joyce Muthoni Wang’ombe, Dr. Florence S.A K’Okul, Ph.D, Dr. Susan Macharia PhD
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