Who Cares? Faculty Members and their Self-Care

Abstract

There is no profession more pressured by society than teachers who are highly expected to hone the total human person to fit the human resource needs of the future. This herculean task has taken its toll in the higher prevalence of health problems among teachers.  This research looked into the profile of teachers, their self-care practices and the interaction between these two variables. Data were gathered using a researcher-designed questionnaire from faculty members of a selected higher education institution. Demographically, more than one-half of the faculty members are female, middle aged, with 13 to 22 units of academic load, only few have administrative designations, with P15,001 to P25,000 monthly income, married, with 1 to 2 children, with normal body mass index, with diagnosed chronic diseases, not taking maintenance medications at the moment, and with first degree relatives who also have diagnosed chronic diseases. Further, the faculty members usually practiced self-care measures on diet, physical activity, rest and recreation, and always practiced self-care measures on habits. Ordinal regression results showed that most of the demographic characteristics of the faculty members are predictors of their self-care practices.