Theoretical Foundations of Nursing
Theoretical Foundations of Nursing
Theoretical Foundations of Nursing
A. ENVIRONMENTAL THEORY
“I think one’s feelings waste
themselves in words; they ought all to
be distilled into actions which bring
results.”
Florence Nightingale (1860)
F lo rence Nigh t inga le de f ined Nurs ing “theas
act of
utilizing the environment of the patient to assist him in
his recovery” (1860 /1969) , tha t i t i nvo lves the nurse ' s
initiative to configure environmental settings
appropriate
for the gradual restoration of the patient's health, and
that external factors associated with the patient's
surroundings affect life or biologic and physiologic
processes , and h i s deve lopment .
Environmental Factors Affecting Health
Defined in her environmental theory are the following
factors present in the patient’s environment:
• pure or f resh a i r
• pure wate r
• su f f i c i en t f ood supp l i es
• e f f i c i en t dra inage
• c lean l iness
• l i gh t ( espec ia l l y d i rec t sun l igh t )
Adequate ventilation has also been regarded as a
factor contributing to changes of the patient’s process of
illness recovery. Any deficiency in one or more of these
factors could lead to impaired functioning of life
processes or diminished health status.
She also emphasized in her environmental theory is the
provision of a quiet or noise-free and warm environment,
attending to patient’s dietary needs by assessment,
documentation of time of food intake, and evaluating it’s
effects on the patient.
Nightingale believed that the environment was the
major component creating illness in a patient; she regarded
disease as “the reactions of kindly nature against the
conditions in which we have placed ourselves.” Her theory
Contains three major relationships:
• environment to patient
• nurse to environment
• nurse to patient
B. INTERACTIVE THEORIES
Adaptation Model
“The model provides a way of thinking
about people and their environment that is
useful in any setting. It helps one
prioritize care and challenges the nurse
to move the patient from survival to
transformation.”
Sister Callista Roy (1979)
She viewed humans as biopsychosocial beings
constantly
interacting with a changing environment and who cope
with
their environment through Biopsychosocial adaptation
mechanisms. There are two categories of coping
mechanisms
according to Roy namely the regulator and the cognator
subsystems:
• Regulator Subsystem t ransp i res th rough neut ra l ,
chemical and endocrine processes like the increase in
vital signs-sympathetic response to stress.
• Cognator Subsystem, on the othe r hand , occurs th rough
cognitive-emotive processes. For instance, are the
effects of prolonged hospitalization for a four-year
old child.
The degree of internal or external environmental
change and the person’s ability to cope with that change is
likely to determine the person’s health status. Nursing
interventions are aimed at promoting physiologic,
psychologic, and social functioning or adaptation.
Transcultural Theory
“Care is the heart of nursing; Care
is power; Care is essential to healing;
Care is curing; and Care is the central
and dominant focus of nursing and
transcultural nursing decisions and
actions.”
Madeleine Leininger (1985)
She stated that Nursing is a learned humanistic and
scientific profession and discipline which is focused on
human care phenomena and activities in order to
assist,
support, facilitate, or enable individuals or groups to
maintain or regain their well being (or health) in
culturally meaningful and beneficial ways, or to help
people face handicaps or death.
Transcultural nursing as a l ea rned sub f i e ld or
branch
of nursing which focuses upon the comparative study
and
analysis of cultures with respect to nursing and
healthillness
caring practices, beliefs and values with the goal
to provide meaningful and efficacious nursing care services
to people according to their cultural values and healthillness
context. It focuses on the fact that different
cultures have different caring behaviors and different
health and illness values, beliefs, and patterns of
behaviors. Awareness of the differences allows the nurse to
design culture-specific nursing interventions.