Abstract
Background/Significance: Self-care is defined as a person’s capacity to partake in preventative measures promoting emotional, physical, and spiritual health to maintain one’s well-being. Registered nurses represent a majority of the healthcare workforce, and a 2017 report by American Nurses' Association found nurses have elevated risk for: a) being overweight, b) lacking adequate rest and sleep and, c) experiencing high levels of stress. As effects of the Covid-19 pandemic rapidly spread, substantial proportions of nurses reported heightened levels of anxiety, depression, and burnout. Impact of the pandemic has brought forth increased awareness regarding the need to encourage self-care practices among nurses to promote well-being. The authors propose it is imperative to initiate and evaluate acquisition of self-care behaviors during nursing education programs. Since the body of research investigating self-care education within nursing curricula is in its early stages, a systematic review of educational self-care practices in nursing is warranted.
Purpose: To synthesize the impact of self-care strategies integrated into undergraduate and graduate nursing curricula to identify gaps in evidence related to different types of interventions, including an overview of students’ perceptions, levels of adoption, and outcomes for different types of self-care activities.
Methods: Literature searches were conducted across 5 databases based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines: Medline (Ovid), PsycInfo, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, ProQuest, and PubMed. The primary author employed Boolean key word searches utilizing different combinations of terms ‘self-care’, ‘student’, and/or ‘nursing student’, with ‘well-being’, ‘curriculum’, and/or ‘nursing education’, and/or ‘mindfulness’, as the latter term has become a common self-care method. Included articles were peer-reviewed studies published from 2018-2023 in English that evaluated an evidence-based self-care intervention within an undergraduate or graduate nursing program. Boolean searches generated 1378 records and were completed on July 12, 2023, with title and abstract screening resulting in 109 studies broadly meeting inclusion criteria. Full-text screening resulted in 20 studies evaluating self-care interventions in nursing programs for review, including calculation of a study quality rating based on evaluation utilizing the Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument. Eighty-nine articles were excluded as not meeting inclusion criteria for a variety of reasons, including cross-sectional surveys with no intervention, or a focus on practicing nurses. The second author validated initial searches independently, and any questions regarding study inclusion were resolved by both authors.
Results: The studies involved 12-251 participants (µ=67), and self-care strategies varied: Advanced practice competency development (n=1), Healthy habits framework (n=2), Dialectical behavior therapy-skills group (n=2), Targeted course integration (n=4), Microlearning sessions (n=4), and Mindfulness education (n=7). Study quality scores ranged from 6.0 to 12.5/18 (µ=9.75). Interventions lasted 5 minutes to 3 hours, in single or multiple sessions, spanning 1 day to 3 years. Common methods utilized were oral/written reflection and return-demonstration, with mixed results: a brief 5-minute intervention had a significant clinical impact (p=.001), while results for lengthier interventions (4 weeks-3 years) varied widely.
Conclusions: Conclusive findings necessitate additional research to ascertain the most effective self-care modalities and time frames for augmenting nursing students' self-care practices.
Notes
Presenter notes available in attached slide deck.
Reference list included in attached slide deck.
Presenters have published an article on this same topic:
Fairchild, R. M., & Tully, S. (2025). Evaluating the Impact of Self-Care Strategies Incorporated in Undergraduate and Graduate Nursing Curricula. Nurse Educator, 50(1), E24–E30. https://doi.org/10.1097/NNE.0000000000001690
Sigma Membership
Non-member
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Systematic Review
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
Graduate Nursing Education, Baccalaureate Nursing Education, Self Care, Self Care -- Education, Outcomes of Education, Life Style Changes, Health Behavior, Mindfulness, Stress Management, Teaching Methods, Curriculum Development
Recommended Citation
Fairchild, Roseanne Moody and Tully, Salena, "Evaluating the Impact of Self-Care Strategies Incorporated Into Undergraduate and Graduate Nursing Curricula: A Systematic Review" (2026). Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE). 132.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/chwe/2024/presentations_2024/132
Conference Name
Creating Healthy Work Environments
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Washington, DC, USA
Conference Year
2024
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2026-03-05
Evaluating the Impact of Self-Care Strategies Incorporated Into Undergraduate and Graduate Nursing Curricula: A Systematic Review
Washington, DC, USA
Background/Significance: Self-care is defined as a person’s capacity to partake in preventative measures promoting emotional, physical, and spiritual health to maintain one’s well-being. Registered nurses represent a majority of the healthcare workforce, and a 2017 report by American Nurses' Association found nurses have elevated risk for: a) being overweight, b) lacking adequate rest and sleep and, c) experiencing high levels of stress. As effects of the Covid-19 pandemic rapidly spread, substantial proportions of nurses reported heightened levels of anxiety, depression, and burnout. Impact of the pandemic has brought forth increased awareness regarding the need to encourage self-care practices among nurses to promote well-being. The authors propose it is imperative to initiate and evaluate acquisition of self-care behaviors during nursing education programs. Since the body of research investigating self-care education within nursing curricula is in its early stages, a systematic review of educational self-care practices in nursing is warranted.
Purpose: To synthesize the impact of self-care strategies integrated into undergraduate and graduate nursing curricula to identify gaps in evidence related to different types of interventions, including an overview of students’ perceptions, levels of adoption, and outcomes for different types of self-care activities.
Methods: Literature searches were conducted across 5 databases based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines: Medline (Ovid), PsycInfo, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, ProQuest, and PubMed. The primary author employed Boolean key word searches utilizing different combinations of terms ‘self-care’, ‘student’, and/or ‘nursing student’, with ‘well-being’, ‘curriculum’, and/or ‘nursing education’, and/or ‘mindfulness’, as the latter term has become a common self-care method. Included articles were peer-reviewed studies published from 2018-2023 in English that evaluated an evidence-based self-care intervention within an undergraduate or graduate nursing program. Boolean searches generated 1378 records and were completed on July 12, 2023, with title and abstract screening resulting in 109 studies broadly meeting inclusion criteria. Full-text screening resulted in 20 studies evaluating self-care interventions in nursing programs for review, including calculation of a study quality rating based on evaluation utilizing the Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument. Eighty-nine articles were excluded as not meeting inclusion criteria for a variety of reasons, including cross-sectional surveys with no intervention, or a focus on practicing nurses. The second author validated initial searches independently, and any questions regarding study inclusion were resolved by both authors.
Results: The studies involved 12-251 participants (µ=67), and self-care strategies varied: Advanced practice competency development (n=1), Healthy habits framework (n=2), Dialectical behavior therapy-skills group (n=2), Targeted course integration (n=4), Microlearning sessions (n=4), and Mindfulness education (n=7). Study quality scores ranged from 6.0 to 12.5/18 (µ=9.75). Interventions lasted 5 minutes to 3 hours, in single or multiple sessions, spanning 1 day to 3 years. Common methods utilized were oral/written reflection and return-demonstration, with mixed results: a brief 5-minute intervention had a significant clinical impact (p=.001), while results for lengthier interventions (4 weeks-3 years) varied widely.
Conclusions: Conclusive findings necessitate additional research to ascertain the most effective self-care modalities and time frames for augmenting nursing students' self-care practices.
Description
This presentation reports the impact of different modes of self-care education integrated into undergraduate or graduate nursing curricula to identify gaps in evidence related to students’ perceptions and subsequent outcomes of self-care activities, to enhance understanding of how to potentially integrate and evaluate self-care practices in a nursing program.