Dorothea Orem’s self-care deficit theory focuses and defines nursing as an activity aimed at helping others to provide and manage self-care. The main goal is to improve and care for human work at the house level of effectiveness. The focus and function of the theory are focused on the ability of each individual to take care of their health. Dorothea Orem defined the ability to take care of oneself as performing a set of actions that an individual commits to maintain health and life.
Thus, a circumstance that confirms the need for adult care is the lack of ability and ability to maintain personal care in the required quality and quantity constantly. Orem’s self-care deficit theory is based on the opinion that while maintaining certain independence of the individual in caring for themselves, their recovery occurs faster (Younas & Quennell, 2019). The theory assumes that one of the manifestations of human activity is the development and transfer of the means and ways of contributing to oneself and others. Orem’s hypothesis, within the theoretical framework, emphasizes that mature people can experience deprivation and discomfort in the framework of actions aimed at caring for themselves or others (Leone et al., 2021). This assumption also includes activities aimed at maintaining life and regulating its functions.
Within the framework of Orem’s theory, the metaparadigm of nursing is also essential. Most theorists emphasize that they view the person, care, nursing, and the environment as a metaparadigm of nursing theories. Within the framework of the metaparadigm of nursing theories, such aspects as intellectual, biological, psychological and sociocultural factors are distinguished in a person. Thus, each nurse’s patient is a system that changes with the environment.
The environment is understood as the geography of human experience within the framework of society and a specific context of this experience in everyday life. Typically, these environments include social and social customs and norms of tradition and belief. It is an energy field inextricably linked with the human energy field. The environment can be defined as a field of activity within which a nurse may face caring attitudes or threats to well-being.
Health refers to the synthesis of wellness and illness, which determines the patient’s perceptions throughout life. This process focuses on many areas of the patient, including aesthetic, moral and physical (Bender, 2018). In this case, the level of health is understood as the process of interaction between the individual and the environment. Nursing is an essential element of the metaparadigm. Within this discipline, nurses use critical thinking as well as clinical judgment to deliver evidence-based patient care. The main goal of nursing is to take care of patients and humanistically improve the health potential of individuals.
Dorothea’s Orem Theory of Self-Care Deficit defines a person as a physical, psychological and social being with a varying level and skill in self-care. However, even though the person is a beneficiary, he has some potential for development and learning to meet the needs for personal care (Yip, 2021). Moreover, the theory implies that a person differs from other creatures by his ability to blur and take care of himself and his environment. People use their thinking for creative ideas to do valuable things for themselves and others.
The most critical metaparadigm is health, which in theory means physical, mental and social well-being. Human integrity is a fundamental goal of the grand nursing theory within this concept. Therefore, the main principle of the theory is the creation of a vision to improve and maintain the health of the population. In the Orem model, it is also necessary to consider the environment, which is described as an indicator of human existence in this environment.
According to the provisions of the theory, man and the environment are disparate entities. Therefore, efforts are required to conceptualize these two concepts as a whole. The idea of the environment, in theory, focuses on representing it as interrelated factors that affect human abilities. According to the theory, nursing is a unique field of knowledge and action and professional practice. Thus, nursing care is viewed as an intervention that aims to satisfy self-care and medical care for patients.
Orem Self-Care Nursing Theory can be used in an outpatient surgery setting for a practitioner. In this concept, the nurse acts as an aid, teaching, guiding and creating the learning environment. The nurse’s role and the level of care in this model can range from complete care to educating the patient and family members (Khademian et al., 2020). Additionally, Orem’s theory mainly focuses on motivation, experience, and skills that a patient can acquire. Therefore, it can provide the necessary foundation for the research of patients with chronic diseases and their motivation and self-care. Within the advanced nursing roles, the theory allows for the assessment of patient care, which will help base medical and nursing interventions based on the obtained data.
In conclusion, it should be said that Orem’s theory is a relatively simple concept that can be applied to a wide range of individuals. The theory includes such vital provisions as self-help and the definition of metaparadigm within the framework of the theory. Additionally, the theory is about the patient’s desire and motivation to take care of himself. However, even though this theory takes the independence of each patient as its primary position, in cases where a person needs full consideration, it cannot be applied.
References
Bender, M. (2018). Re‐conceptualizing the nursing metaparadigm: Articulating the philosophical ontology of the nursing discipline that orients inquiry and practice. Nursing inquiry, 25(3). 122-131.
Khademian, Z., Ara, F. K., & Gholamzadeh, S. (2020). The effect of self-care education based on orem’s nursing theory on quality of life and self-efficacy in patients with hypertension: a quasi-experimental study. International journal of community based nursing and midwifery, 8(2), 140.
Leone, D. R. R., Neves, A. C. D. O. J., Prado, R. T., & Castro, E. A. B. D. (2021). Nursing assistance in peritoneal dialysis: applicability of orem theory–mixed method study. Escola Anna Nery, 25. Web.
Yip, J. Y. C. (2021). Theory-Based Advanced Nursing Practice: A Practice Update on the Application of Orem’s Self-Care Deficit Nursing Theory. SAGE Open Nursing, 7. Web.
Younas, A., & Quennell, S. (2019). Usefulness of nursing theory‐guided practice: An integrative review. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 33(3), 540-555. Web.