One of the theories I discussed last week was Orem’s Self-care Deficit Theory. Orem’s theory promotes the idea of patient independence over self-care with the ultimate goal of overcoming human limitations to self-care (Current Nursing, 2020). By focusing on a person’s ability to perform self-care, maintain health and overall wellbeing, this empowers the individual to take responsibility for their health or the health of others (Shah, et. al, 2013). This theory can be highly individualized from patient to patient, or patient’s families, so the application of this theory can differ greatly based on population focus. For example, this theory would be applied differently between adult and pediatric populations based on age and developmental stages. In pediatrics, this theory would likely be heavily geared towards parent support and educations in performing cares. Additionally, this theory can great vary based on specific illness or disease state. For example, I work in a pediatric cardiovascular ICU where the patient’s defect, arrhythmia, or ailment greatly determines their self-care needs. A neonate with a congenital heart defect that is not yet fully repaired may have an oxygen requirement or tube feeding support. In this case, much more teaching would be geared towards the parent’s ability to use/manipulate these new medical devices. On this same unit, I may also take care of an adolescent patient who just had a mechanical valve replacement. Initially post op, this patient may require full or partial cares, and these deficits would change as the patient status improves and once again becomes independent. This same patient may also require teaching involving anticoagulant therapy; many adolescents have the physical and mental capacity to administer their own medications, so teaching and support would be given in this case.
Ultimately, how Orem’s Self-Care Deficit Theory is applied to a population focus is highly variable from situation to situation because deficits can be adaptable and dynamic in nature.
References
Current Nursing. (2020, March 12). Nursing theories: Open access articles on nursing theories and models. https://currentnursing.com/nursing_theory/self_care_deficit_theory.html
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