Introduction
It is widely agreed that nursing theories provide the foundation for the discipline’s body of knowledge and facilitate the systematic gathering of information needed to define, explain, and predict nursing practice. Applying theory encourages systematic and rational nursing practice. They help nurses keep their attention on their work and its ultimate goals. This discussion focuses on Henderson’s Need Theory and its application to professional practice in improving telehealth through choosing appropriate specialists, addressing patients with limited financial resources, and using advanced but affordable telehealth hardware and software.
Theory Explanation
The Nursing Need Theory is one of the theories from the discipline of nursing. In 1955, Henderson used what she had learned in the field and in the classroom to establish this theory. She said that nurses play a substitutive, supplementary, or complementary function. Nurses in a substitutive capacity are responsible for taking on some patient responsibilities (Maier et al., 2018). On the other hand, nurses in complementary positions collaborate with their patients to identify and implement solutions to their unique healthcare risks and concerns. Finally, in their secondary function, nurses encourage patients to actively participate in their healthcare and to make intelligent decisions that will have a positive impact on their health.
Purpose of the Theory
Henderson’s objective was not to create a theory of nursing but to establish the unique emphasis of nursing practice. The theory focuses on the importance of enhancing the patient’s independence to ensure that their recovery will not be slowed down after they have been hospitalized (Wasik, 2020). Her emphasis on fundamental human needs as the core focus of nursing practice has led to additional theory development addressing the patient’s requirements and how nursing might aid in satisfying those needs. According to Henderson, everyone has fundamental health requirements and deserves compassionate care that helps them live independently and healthfully or die with dignity (Wasik, 2020). Maintaining mental and physical equilibrium, as she sees it, is the path to completeness.
Concepts of the Theory
The first concept that the theory uncovers is the individual. According to Henderson, individuals have fundamental health requirements and deserve medical aid on the path to wellness, self-sufficiency, or a dignified death (Mudd et al., 2020). She believes that psychological and physiological stability is necessary for personal fulfillment. The patient, in her view, is everyone in need of nursing care, including but not limited to those with illnesses. Her philosophy portrayed the patient as a whole, having both physical and mental needs or biopsychosocial needs.
Secondly, Henderson talks about the environment as a concept in her theory. Henderson included helping clients maintain a supportive environment that is conducive to health as one of her 14 activities for assisting clients, despite the fact that the Need Theory does not give a specific description of the environment. Whether they operate in the public or private sphere, Henderson’s thesis lends credence to the efforts made to improve and maintain the health of populations. Nursing care is a right and a social expectation for individuals who are unable to care for themselves, in her opinion.
Henderson, in her third concept, explains how health is a fundamental idea in her philosophy. Although health is not defined by Henderson in his theory, it was generally accepted that it meant a state of balance and well-being in which all parts of one’s life were flourishing. The list of the 14 components or fundamental human needs is synonymous with independence or the capacity to carry out tasks without external assistance. Nurses play a vital role in improving health, preventing sickness, and curing unwell patients. Henderson argues that maintaining good health is difficult because of the wide variety of variables that impact it, including age, culture, emotional stability, and many more.
Lastly, Henderson discusses nursing as a fundamental concept in her theory. She defined nursing in terms of the responsibilities expected of a nurse. She states that a nurse’s unique role is to help patients, healthy or not, carry out the self-care behaviors that are essential to maintaining or regaining health and that they would do on their own if they possessed the requisite physical abilities, mental fortitude, or knowledge. She adds that the nurse’s duties should be carried out in a manner that accelerates the patient’s progress toward self-sufficiency. Her explanation of nursing generally highlighted the important role nurses play in delivering medical care. It is required of the nurse to follow the treatment plan devised by the physician. Nevertheless, customized care comes about due to the nurse’s ingenuity in preparing for care.
Assumptions of the Theory
Henderson’s theory makes some major assumptions concerning the nurse’s role. According to Gligor & Domnari (2020), the primary assumption of this theory is that nurses should administer medical care to patients until they can assume this responsibility for themselves. Henderson makes the implicit theoretical assumption that patients desire to improve their health. Furthermore, it assumes the nurse’s undivided attention to the patient during the whole time (Gligor & Domnari, 2020). Henderson concludes that the best way to prepare nurses for the future is via a liberal arts college education (Gligor & Domnari, 2020). She believes a nurse’s primary role is to assist patients, healthy and otherwise, in carrying out actions that promote their well-being and recovery.
Application to Professional Practice
Concerning internet access During COVID-19, I faced numerous cases when patients did not attend appointments due to accessing a webcam or mobile devices and forgetting scheduled appointments. A common practice concerning these cases is that the department utilized telehealth, highlighting the need to eliminate no-show appointments (Kalicki et al., 2022). Consequently, it is essential to choose appropriate specialists, address patients with limited financial resources, and use advanced but affordable telehealth hardware and software by appealing to emancipatory and personal ways of knowing.
Healthcare technology holds great potential to improve the quality of healthcare delivery to individuals, which is a key concept in Henderson’s theory. One effective technology is remote patient monitoring, whereby patient data, such as vital signs or symptom reports, are captured from home monitoring devices and transmitted to healthcare professionals for review. The use of remote patient monitoring, often referred to as telehealth, has been widely adopted by healthcare providers, particularly home care agencies, to improve patients’ health. Most agencies have invested in telehealth to facilitate the early identification of disease exacerbation, particularly for patients with chronic diseases such as heart failure and diabetes.
Agencies have successfully harnessed this technology to reduce rehospitalization rates through remote data interpretation and the provision of timely interventions, underlining its relationship to nursing practice as a concept in Henderson’s theory. However, the use of telehealth by home care agencies and other health care providers must be expanded to empower patients and promote disease self-management with improved health care outcomes. Moreover, educating and empowering patients to actively get involved with their care by video and mobile devices on how to navigate and interact with providers will improve patient outcomes.
Conclusion
Henderson’s work is regarded as a nursing theory because it provides a comprehensive description of nursing and fundamental concepts in nursing practice. She places her primary emphasis on patient care to assist patients in achieving independence. This involves providing nursing care as well as educational opportunities. Examining Henderson’s nursing theory, understanding its foundations and fundamental features, and grasping how it relates to personal values and beliefs in practice allow nurses to adapt Henderson’s nursing theory to a wide range of clinical circumstances, particularly in psychiatric practice.
References
Gligor, L., & Domnari, C. D. (2020). Patient care approach using nursing theories-comparative analysis of Orem’s Self-Care Deficit Theory and Henderson’s Model. Sciendo. Web.
Kalicki, A. V., Moody, K. A., Franzosa, E., Gliatto, P. M., & Ornstein, K. A. (2021). Barriers to telehealth access among homebound older adults. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 69(9), 2404–2411. Web.
Maier, C., Köppen J., Busse,R., & MUNROS Team. (2018). Task shifting between physicians and nurses in acute care hospitals: Cross-sectional study in nine countries. Human Resources Health, 16(1), 24.
Mudd, A., Feo, R., Conroy, T., & Kitson, A. (2020). Where and how does fundamental care fit within seminal nursing theories: A narrative review and synthesis of key nursing concepts. Journal of clinical nursing, 29(19-20), 3652-3666. Web.
Wasik, M. A. (2020). The role of the nurse in improving the quality of healthcare. Journal of Education, Health and Sport, 10(4), 68-74. Web.