The article discussing the issue of violence against women is built around the Conservation Model (Netto, Moura, Queiroz, Tyrrell, & Bravo, 2014). The general idea of the article is that violence against women causes them to suffer both physically and psychologically. Females who were interviewed provide claim that they have sleeping disorders, poor nutrition behavior, insufficient energy level, low self-esteem, and other issues. The article also discusses the actions that nurses should take towards such patients to ensure their well-being.
Strengths and Weaknesses
The article has both strong and weak sides regarding the structure the research and the outcomes. First of all, the article’s main strength is that it focuses on the so-called Central Ideas that summarize the key factors experienced by the interviewed women. This approach helped to eliminate the variety of options and made results more precise and applicable to the Conservation Model, as each central idea was compared to its principles.
Secondly, the pool of respondents features a diverse group of females, which is good for comparing violence in different layers of society. However, the number of interviewed women is very low, being only 16 representatives. This factor does not serve towards creating accuracy of results. Another weakness of the article is that the discussion part does not have much information about the ways of how nurses can psychologically help such patients. The general guidelines feature medical procedures targeted at healing skin and other body parts affected by violent actions.
Addressing the Conservation Model
The literature review of the article features the Conservation Model and four fundamental elements that it includes, being the conservation of energy, as well as structural, personal, and social integrity (Masters, 2015, p. 142). Although the model is the central concept of the study, it is not described fully in the article. Of course, the part discussing the results associates them with these four elements, explaining how the theory is applied in practice. However, while the actions harming the integrity and energy resources are mentioned, there is little explanation of what nurses should do, although this knowledge is also a part of the Conservation Model theory (Fawcett & DeSanto-Madeya, 2013, p. 113).
Providing Care
One of the most important principles that can be derived from the article is that victims of domestic violence are often psychologically vulnerable and require a special approach from nurses. The latter must understand that all their treatment procedures represent the direct interaction in the patients’ world. They must be extremely delicate and responsive in order not to make any more psychological damage. The treatment plan should include procedures targeted at sustaining all four elements of conservation regarding each patient’s health. Some of the most important actions should be associated with renewing an energy level of a domestic violence victim.
According to the article, the lack of sleep and poor nutrition are the most common problems. A nurse should ensure such patient is following a daily schedule of sleeping and eating, as it helps to improve the overall physical state. Other procedures should be targeted at restoring patients’ self-confidence.
Personal Reflection
The article has left me with an understanding that violence against people is much more destructive than I used to think. It affects many levels of people’s health and damages the integrity that women have with society and themselves. Nurses should be extremely careful when approaching such patient to prevent any further damage to their mental health.
References
Fawcett, J., & DeSanto-Madeya, S. (2013). Contemporary nursing knowledge: Analysis and evaluation of nursing models and theories. Philadelphia, PA: F. A. Davis Company.
Masters, K. (2015). Nursing theories: A framework for professional practice. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Netto, L. A., Moura, M. A. V., Queiroz, A. B. A., Tyrrell, M. A. R., & Bravo, M. M. P. (2014). Violence against women and its consequences. Acta Paulista de Enfermagem, 27(5), 458-464. Web.