The purposefulness of a plan and its implementation in assisting a client with diabetes helped fill in her self-care deficit (Kumar 2007). The interpersonal relationship between a nurse and her client minimizes the stress experienced by the latter and her family. This enables the client or patient and her family to act more responsibly in health matters. An assessment and plan of care may use Orem's client-related concepts -- of self-care, self-care agency, therapeutic self-care demand and self-care deficit --, the concepts of nursing agency and nursing system and the basic conditioning factors. Integrating these concepts into other theories on health promotion and family systems may guide effective health assessment, health outcomes and nursing interventions (Kumar).
The particular goal of managing chronic diabetes is self-care (Kumar 2007). Orem's theory provides direction to the diabetes educator in guiding the client in self-management. A recent study found that theory-based nursing care and standardized nursing language reduced a client's self-care deficit and improved his capability to care for himself (Kumar).
Blood Glucose
Monitoring blood glucose by a diabetic is also difficult and frustrating (Aldridge 2005). The specialist nurse must, therefore, exert effort to encourage and empower the patient in the regular performance of this routine process. She needs to explain how skillful monitoring can make him understand that it will help improve quality of life. Self-monitoring of blood glucose is basic to proper diabetes care. Patient education should, therefore, be central to diabetes care. Mere monitoring blood glucose is useful but quality of life will improve only with skillful monitoring (Aldridge).
Kidney Disease
Orem's Self-Care Theory may be integrated into all the aspects of the care of kidney disease (Graham 2006). It is useful from the early detection of renal impairment up to the end stage, which requires renal replacement. Orem's concept can be a basic component in an approach to meet the need for the longest life expectancy and the highest quality of life (Graham).
Stroke
Orem's self-care deficit nursing theory is part of the essential education basic to a successful transition of stroke patients and their caregivers from the hospital to home (Cook et al. 2006). This was the conclusion of a survey recently conducted among therapists of stroke patients at home in eastern United States. Most of them sought information on safe transfer techniques. The therapists or caregivers also gave importance to the acquisition and use of assistive and adaptive devices. Healthcare teams can provide comprehensive information programs needed and sought by stroke patients and their therapists or caregivers (Cook et al.).
Another research found physical assistance and emotional support from family and friends were essential in helping the stroke survivor cope with his condition (Steiner et al. 2008). The survivor's family and friend normally bond with caregivers. As a result, they develop a sense of responsibility to care for the survivor. When the caregiver receives emotional support from the survivor's family and friends, her perception of physical help connects with emotional support (Steiner et al.).
The study surveyed 73 caregivers from the Midwest on their first 12 months after their patients suffered a stroke (Steiner et al. 2008). Results revealed that the caregivers set up a responsive self-care system with their clients. This system provides both physical help and emotional support. The study also disclosed the need for nurses to evaluate the caregivers' health at some later time in the caring process. The connection between their health condition and emotional support provided them should also be investigated. The findings underscored the importance of informal social networks to provide the emotional support needed for caregivers of stroke survivors. The positive relationship between emotional support and the health of caregivers seems to conclude that care-giving is a long-term process. This implies the need for sustained emotional support throughout the draining and challenging provision of care to fill in the survivor's self-care deficit (Steiner).
Heart Failure
Promoting or improving self-care behavior among congestive heart failure patients can cut down on huge costs of hospitalization (Aliha et al. 2006). Assessing their self-care behaviors, needs and abilities is, therefore, paramount. A study conducted on 125 patients, using Orem's self-care theory, said that more than half of the patients had satisfactory self-care behavior. More than half of the respondents had good working knowledge about self-care. At the far end, there were those who said that they had high or very high learning needs about self-care. The study concluded that nurses' knowledge about their patients' self-care behaviors, learning needs, limitations of knowledge and their knowledge about self-care and basic conditioning factors will help them in performing supportive-educative intervention function. This function was derived from Orem's self-care deficit theory (Aliha et al.).
Autonomy and Decision-Making in Adolescence
The ability to make proper decisions about self-care produces healthy attitudes and behavior in an entire lifespan (Dickey and Deatrick 2000). Helping adolescents become individual self-care agents will help them develop proper health care decisions by themselves....
Self-analysis: Application Even from a personal perspective, I have found the Orem model useful to use, when evaluating the stressors in my own life. When a nurse is under stress, she or he must ask: what can I feasibly accomplish physically, by myself, without compromising patient care? Nurses often put their own needs aside, in deference to the needs of others, but to reduce nursing 'burnout' it is essential that nurses
Orem's Self-Care Deficit Theory There are several grand theories of nursing, and among them is Orem's self-care deficit theory. This theory is predicated a set of assumptions, including that people are distinct individuals, that they should be self-reliant, that a person's knowledge of potential health problems is necessary for promoting self-care behaviors, and that nursing is a form of action. The movie Awakenings can be used as an example of how
Nursing Theory Application of Orem's Self-Care Deficit Theory to Awakenings There are several grand theories of nursing, and among them is Dorothea Orem's Self-Care Deficit Theory (SCDT). This theory has established a set of assumptions, including that people are distinct individuals, that they should be self-reliant, that a person's knowledge of potential health problem is necessary for promoting self-care behaviors, and that nursing is a form of action (CurrentNursing.com, 2012). The movie
My specialty area of NP practice is family nurse practitioner. My choice of nursing theory on this front is the Dorothea Orem’s self-care deficit theory. To a large extent, this happens to be one of the most popular nursing theories owing to its succinct description of some concepts of great relevance to nursing practice. In essence, the theory advances the need for individuals as well as families to further their
Orem's Self-Care Model: A Professional Nursing Practice Model Nursing theory is an organized and systematic articulation of a set of statements related to questions in the discipline of nursing. (Caley, p. 302, 1980) The model presented by Dorothea Orem is based on the idea that as human beings, we are engaged in self-care activities that allow us to maintain a state of good health. Orem defines health as "a state of
Dorothea Orem and her Self-Care Model of Nursing Theory Born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1914, Dorothea Orem went on to become a much-revered nursing leader in the United States, innovating, developing and teaching her self-care model up until her death in 2007. Her self-care model is in great use today and is the subject of this paper. Orem received her nursing diploma in 1939 (from Providence Hospital) and in 1945 she
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