# Providing Healthy Work Environments Through Facilitation of Nurse Educators’ Self-Leadership in Academic Settings: A Qualitative Explorative Study

## TL;DR

This study explores how supporting self-leadership among nurse educators can improve academic work environments in South Africa.

## Contribution

The study introduces a qualitative framework linking nurse educators' self-leadership to healthier academic environments.

## Key findings

- Two key themes emerged: empowering educators to take initiative and creating supportive work environments.
- Supporting self-leadership in nurse educators fosters healthier academic settings.
- Collaboration between institutions and educators is critical for positive work environments.

## Abstract

In today's dynamic academic landscape, self-leadership is an essential attribute for employees, including nurse educators. Various factors within educational institutions can influence the ability of nurse educators to exercise self-leadership effectively, which in turn impacts their performance and workplace well-being.

This study explored nurse educators’ understanding of self-leadership and examined their perspectives on how fostering self-leadership can contribute to creating a healthier academic work environment.

A qualitative, exploratory, and descriptive research design was employed. Focus group interviews were conducted with nurse educators from four educational institutions in South Africa, and the data were analyzed using Tesch's qualitative content analysis.

The study identified two key themes: (1) Empowering Nurse Educators to Take Initiative, which includes four subthemes, and (2) Creating a Supportive and Healthy Academic Work Environment, also with four subthemes.

Academic institutions that collaborate with nurse educators and actively support their self-leadership initiatives play a critical role in fostering healthy and productive work environments.