How nurses support self-care in patients diagnosed with malaria : A field study at a district hospital in Kenya

Abstract: Malaria is a big problem and a major cause of death and illness among children and adults in tropical countries (World Health Organization, 2010). It is the biggest threat for children in Kenya and leads to death in approximately 36,000 children (<5 yrs) every year. When infected with malaria; the patient ends up with some kind of self-care deficit and need access to health care.Research about how nurses can support self-care in patients with malaria is lacking. If no plan for how to take care of a patient with malaria exits, treatment can differ, which in turn can result in poorer outcome for the patient. The aim of the study was to investigate how the nurses at Moi District Hospital in Voi support self-care in patients diagnosed with malaria. The study was carried out with five qualitative semi-structured interviews. Data was analyzed with a deductive content analysis. The result showed that nurses teached and encouraged patients to perform self-care; they identified patient status, they acted for the patient, guided him or her and tried to provide a developmental environment. Teaching was the most common way to support self-care, probably because of lack of recourses.