Perceptions of needs related to the practice of self‐care for minor illness

Abstract

Aims and objectives. The aim of this study was to describe people's perceptions of needs to feel confident in self-care for minor illnesses as well as their perceptions about supporting and obstructing factors in the practice of self-care. Background. Minor illness constitutes a large part of primary care, and patients' attendance to doctors' appointments for minor illness has been seen to increase future attendance for the same condition. Almost half of the consultations with telenurses result in the provision of self-care advice. Design. A cross-sectional survey. Method. Primary data were collected using a questionnaire, and the study participants (n = 315) were randomly selected from the national Swedish address register. Results. Having knowledge and receiving health care advice and reliable information were perceived to be needs in order for participants to feel confident in self-care. Having family or friends to consult with was perceived to be a positive factor influencing confidence in self-care, especially for persons under the age of 35. Health care services were perceived to support self-care practice by offering easy access to care, giving information about self-care, and offering increased follow-up after consultations. Lack of knowledge, along with difficulties being away from work, were obstructing factors in the practice of self-care. Conclusions. Young age was the factor influencing people's perceptions of needs and supporting factors the most. Young age and low knowledge scores about minor illnesses were the two factors that had the most influence on perceived obstructing factors. Relevance to clinical practice. Nurses play a major role in the promotion of selfcare and in the dissemination of self-care advice. If health care services fail to meet the needs of care-seekers with minor illnesses, patients might turn to out-ofhours clinics and emergency departments for help.Key words: counselling, district nursing, needs, primary care, self-care, support, symptom control, telenursing What does this paper contribute to the wider global clinical community?• Providing persons with proper tools for managing minor illness, and teaching strategies for symptom control, is essential to reduce medical care of minor illness.• The health care services can support the practice of self-care by offering easy access to self-care advice.• Nurses and telenurses play a major role in the promotion of self-care and the dissemination of health care advice. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.

Influence of self‐care advice on patient satisfaction and healthcare utilization

“…Knowledge about how to obtain symptom relief is needed to feel confident in the practice of self‐care (Gustafsson et al . ), and knowledge about minor illnesses is built up through experiencing minor illnesses (Gustafsson et al . ).…”

“…However, younger callers in our study were significantly less satisfied to feel confident in their practice of self-care, and young persons have been found to have a greater need to have someone with whom they can discuss minor illness. Knowledge about how to obtain symptom relief is needed to feel confident in the practice of self-care (Gustafsson et al 2015b), and knowledge about minor illnesses is built up through experiencing minor illnesses (Gustafsson et al 2015a). It could be that younger persons lack the experience and have unmet needs related to dealing with minor illness.…”

“…Minor illness is defined as a condition that requires little or no medical intervention and that causes a disruption in people's everyday life, during a short period of time (Gustafsson et al 2015b). Minor illness is self-limiting to its nature and left untreated it rarely implies complications that threaten human life.…”

Self‐care ability and sense of security among older persons when using an app as a tool for support

“…Self-care can also be seen as a personal learning process to manage health concerns (14). Receiving advice and reliable information for minor health concerns can create a feeling of confidence in selfcare (48). However, it has been shown that self-care ability decreases with increasing age and when home care is provided (16).…”

Need for reassurance in self‐care of minor illnesses

“…Active surveillance can be described as a treatment strategy that involves closely watching a patient's condition but not giving any treatment unless the condition is getting worse. Minor illness is defined as conditions that require little or none medical intervention and that cause a disruption in people's everyday life during a short period of time (Gustafsson, Vikman, Sävenstedt, & Martinsson, ). The management strategy for minor illnesses is important because care‐seekers tend to take on strategies from past experiences.…”