Repercussions for self-care of health professionals with diabetes mellitus

Abstract

This study aims to understand the self-care practices of health professionals with diabetes mellitus who experience long work shifts. This is a descriptive study, with a qualitative approach, carried out in the city of Iguatu, Ceará, in three health services. It only included health professionals diagnosed with diabetes mellitus and who worked on duty, totaling a sample of three participants. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using the content analysis technique, aided by the Iramuteq textual corpus analysis software. As for the ethical aspects, all steps were guided by resolution n° 466/2012 of the National Health Council. A profile of female participants was evidenced; single and with a child; with an average age of 39.6 years; brown race; complete high school; low monthly family income; nursing techniques; with only one employment relationship; working in more than four day and/or night shifts per week, 12 continuous hours. The word cloud revealed a negative view of the object of study and content analysis enabled the formation of four categories: Perception about the disease and self-care; Description of self-care practices; Difficulties in self-care related to work and Facilities in self-care related to work. Despite recognizing the importance of self-care, the participants face some work-related difficulties for its effectiveness, especially in relation to food and physical exercise, valuing drug treatment despite these aspects. Nevertheless, some facilities for self-care related to work were pointed out, such as the good relationship between professionals and the availability of equipment and supplies. It is concluded that working in long shifts positively and negatively influenced the self-care of the participants, pointing to the need for strategies that contribute to the realization of this practice in the work environment.