NURSING THEORIES AND DESCRIPTION OF NURSING

DEFINITION OF THE TERM THEORY

Theory is suggested explanation for an unfore seen happening.

- It is concerned with knowledge rather than feelings or bahaviours.

- Involves description and explanation of what we perceived

- May involve predictions about relationships and interactions between things

- Is by definition about he real world and is practical, not abstract.

Theory is the description or explanation of phenomena and the relationships between such
phenomena.

In general theory is recognized as the thinking part of science while research is the empirical as
doing part.

The following are nursing theorists and theories which attempt to define, describe and to some
extent guide nursing practice.

VIRGINIA HENDERSON (1960) - FOURTEEN BASIC NEEDS

She is one of the pioneer nurses (modern nursing) and outlined the unique function of the nurse.

- To assist clients: sick or well. In the performance of those activities contributing to

health, its recovery, or peaceful death those clients would perform unaided if they had the
necessary strength, will, or knowledge.
- Also to do so in such away as to help clients gain independence as rapidly as possible.

MARTHA ROGERS (1960) - UNITARY HUMAN BEINGS AND ENERRRGY FIELD

Describe nursing as humanistic science dedicated to compassionate concern with maintaining

and prompting health, preventing illness, and caring for and rehabulating the sick and disabled.
Nursing seeks to promote symphonic interaction between the environment and the person, to
strengthen the coherence and integrity of the human beings, and to direct and redirect patterns of
interaction between the person and the environment for the realization of maximum health
potential.

DOROTHEA OREM (1971, 1980, 1985)

A helping or assisting service to persons who are wholly or partily dependent infants, children
and adults-self care theory when, they, their parents, guardians or other adults responsible for
their care are no longer able to give or supervise their care.
A creature effort of one human being to help another human being. Nursing is deliberate action,
a function of the practical intelligence of nurses, and action to bring about humanity desirable
conditions in persons and their environments. It is distinguished from other human services and
other forms of care by its focus on human beings.

JEAN WATSON (1979-1985)-SCIENCE OF CARING

Nursing is concerned with promoting and restoring health and preventing illness. Caring is a
nursing term representing all the factors the nurse uses to deliver health care to the client. In
contrast caring is a medical term that refers to the elimination of disease.

DOROTHY E. JOHNSON (1980) –BEHAVIOR SYSTEM THEORY

An external regulatory force that acts to preserve the organization and integration of the client’s
behavior at an optional level under those conditions in which the behavior constitutes a threat to
physical or social health or in which illness is found.

BETTY NEUMAN (1982) SYSTEM THEORY.

A unique profession in tat it is concerned with all of the variables affecting an individual’s
response to stressors, which are intra, inter and extra-personal in nature. The concern of nursing
is to prevent stress invasion, or following stress invasion, to protect the client’s basic structure
and obtain or maintain a maximum level of wellness.

The nurse helps the client, through primary, secondary and tertially prevention modes, to adjust
to environmental stressors and maintain client system stability.

MADELEINE LEININGER (1984). TRANSCULTURAL CARE THEORY

A learned humanistic art and science tat focuses on personalized (individual an group) care
behaviors, functions, and processes directed towards promoting and maintaining health behaviors
or recovering from illness.

Behaviors have physical, psycho cultural and social significance or meaning for those being
assisted generally by a professional nurse or one with similar role competences.

SISTER CALLISTA LOY (1976, 1984)

A theoretical system of knowledge that prescribes a process of analysis and action related to the
care of adaptation theory the ill or potentially ill person. As a science, nursing is a developing
system of knowledge about persons usual to observe, classify and relate the processes by which
persons positively affect their health status. As a practice discipline, nursing’s scientific body of
acknowledge is used to people that is to promote ability to affect health positively.

FAYE ABDELLAH (1960) – TWENTY ONE NURSING PROBLEMS

Nursing service to, individuals and januliics therefore to society. An art and science that molds
the altitudes, intellectual competences and technical skills of the individual nurse into the desire
and ability to help people, sick or well, cope with their health needs may be carried out under
general or specific medical direction.

IMOGENE KING (1971, 1981) GOAL ATTAINMENT THEORY

A helping profession that consists individuals and groups in society to attain, maintain and
restore health if this is possible, nurses’ help individuals die with dignity. Nursing is preserving,
thinking, relating, judging and acting visa-visa the behaviors of individuals who come to a
nursing situation. A nursing situation is the immediate environment, spatial and temporal reality,
in which nurses and clients establish relationship to cope with health states and adjust to changes
in activities of daily living if the situation demands adjustment. It is an interpersonal process of
action, reaction, interaction and transaction. Whereby nurses and clients share information about
their perception in the nursing situation.

HILDEGARD PEPLAU (1952) PSYCHODYNAMIC NURSING

Nursing is therapeutic, interpersonal process. Its functions cooperatively with other human
processes that make health possible for people in the communities. An educative instrument, a
maturing force that aims to promote forward movement of the personality in the direction of a
reactive, constructive, productive, personal and community living.

MYRA LEVINE (1973)

FOUR CONSERVATION PRINCIPLES

A human interaction. A discipline rooted in the organic dependency of the individual on

relationships with other human beings. A sub culture reflecting ideas and values unique to
nurses, even though the values mirror the social template that created them.