The theory of nursing is a complex discipline designed to answer the most common questions of nursing science and practice. It studies the history and philosophy of nursing, its role, and its place in medicine and society. The theories are divided into grand and middle-range, which significantly contribute to the development of the discipline. While grand views aim to cover the general human experience within the healthcare framework, the middle-range ones target specific medical concerns. Therefore, this paper aims to observe the application of Florence Nightingale’s Environment theory and Nola Pender’s Health Promotion Model in research articles.
To begin with, Florence Nightingale was the first outstanding theorist in the field of nursing. Her attempts to reorganize the nursing system led to the emergence of the Environment Theory, which disclosed the main principles of treating patients and sustaining a sound environment. Her theory was developed during the Crimean War and contained the idea that a nurse uses environmental factors to ensure the patient’s well-being (Gilbert, 2020). She treated nursing as a high art, a religious vocation. She believed that only a woman could be a nurse, and that formal, rather than special education, was enough to perform nursing duties (Gilbert, 2020) successfully. Nurses gradually realized that treatment is based on the fight against the disease, as such, without a current assessment of the patient’s condition and meeting his needs is unsatisfactory. A safe environment, free from dirt and parasites, was considered a necessary condition for the patient’s recovery.
Any field-related theory defines key concepts including a person, health, environment, and nursing. Nightingale did not determine the person but rather specified their relation to the surroundings (physical conditions such as air, light, and so on), which in turn are the theory’s primary focus (Gilbert, 2020). Concerning nursing, Nightingale claimed that one’s role is to ensure the environment contributes to healing, while health is the result of meeting basic human needs. Therefore, these concepts became entirely operable in times of pandemic when the environment played an essential role in the fight against the virus.
One of the theory’s most common applications is the reinforcement of good physical surroundings to treat a patient better. Gilbert (2020) investigated how the model applies to modern infection control procedures. In the study, the researcher explored how Nightingale’s underpinnings were reflected during the pandemic’s peak when medical facilities were exposed to significant global threats. It is claimed that nurses from New Zealand and Australia started considering the experience of in-field professionals from China, the U.S., and other states severely suffering from the pandemic. For instance, “makeshift treatment centers and hospitals have been quickly constructed or converted to manage the overwhelming patient load, including conference rooms” and other spaces (Gilbert, 2020, p. 5). What is more, the professionals started caring for the environment using the germ theory, as they considered that pathogens were active when the surroundings are poor (Gilbert, 2020). Hence, numerous hospitals implemented restricting measures considering the non-penetration of the virus in safe surroundings.
In addition to the grand nursing theories, the middle-range ones play an essential role in investigating more concrete nursing issues. The other prominent theory developer Nola Pender has developed a model of Health Promotion. The main feature of this approach is that it emphasizes the preventive measures people should take to avoid diseases in general (Anjani et al., 2020). This model describes nurses’ critical role in helping patients prevent diseases through self-service and intelligent solutions. Throughout her career, Nola Pender has supported and continues to support various nursing care organizations, investing her time, services, and knowledge (Anjani et al., 2020). Pender also describes the fundamental concepts by applying her lens to the model. As a result, she defines health as not merely a disease’s absence but rather a dynamic condition. Human is determined as capable of development under the influence of different context – environment (Anjani et al., 2020). Finally, nursing is the ability of a specialist to encourage patients to sustain positive health-related behaviors.
This theory was vividly applied in the study regarding maternal behavior in preventing children’s anemia. The researchers established that Pender’s model suits parents whose kids suffer from anemia (Anjani et al., 2020). The official guardians can alleviate their child’s condition by following simple guidelines regarding safe environment preservation and proper medication intake (Anjani et al., 2020). The parents were recommended to follow the regular medical routine of their offspring and include all factors of treatment, including the work of healthcare workers, community health, and others. Hence, the model can fix one’s behavior to contribute to better health outcomes.
In conclusion, nursing theories play a significant role in perceiving abstract and concrete healthcare issues. They help to define a human being, the environment, health, and nursing itself. Florence Nightingale and Nola Render were among the most influential theorists who established a safe environment and health promotion principles. Nightingale’s theory was best applied in the prevention of coronavirus. In the meantime, Pender’s model is helpful in creating behavioral patterns for parents of sick children.
References
Anjani, N. K. D., Suhita, B. M., Puspitasari, Y., & Kardjati, S. (2020). Mothers’s knowledge and behavior of anemia prevention in children: Application of Pender’s health promotion model. Journal for Quality in Public Health, 4(1), 96–103. Web.
Gilbert, H. (2020). Florence Nightingale’s Theory and its influence on contemporary infection control. Collegian, 1-8. Web.