Twenty One Nursing Problems

Faye Glenn Abdellah

Aliah Marie C. Aban

and
Shane Nicole Sierra
Bachelor of Science in Nursing
Section-Charity
Mrs. Maribeth Aragon-Asenjo
September 18, 2021
 Table of Contents

Abstract ………………………………………………………………………………………… 1

Faye Glenn Abdellah’s Biography ……………………………………………………………... 2

Major Concepts ………………………………………………………………………………….3

Person …………………………………………………………………………………..1.3

Health……………………………………………………………………………………2.3

Environment …………………………………………………………………………….3.3

Nursing ………………………………………………………………………………….4.3

Assumptions …………………………………………………………………………………….. 4

Twenty One Nursing Problem…………………………………………………………………….5

Guideline Questions …………...................................................................................................... 6

References……………………………………………………………………………………….. 7
 Abstract

Faye Glenn Abdellah’s aim is to formulating a clear categorization of patients’ problems

as health needs. Nurses’ roles were defined to alleviate the problems assessed through the

proposed problem-solving approach. The theory of 21 problems in nursing intended to guide care

not just in the hospital setting but can also be applied to community nursing, as well. The model

has interrelated concepts of health and nursing problems and problem-solving.

1
 Faye Glenn Abdellah

Faye Glenn Abdellah was born on March 13,1919 in New York City. She was a pioneer

nursing researcher, helped transform nursing theory, nursing care and nursing education. The

leader in nursing research and has over one hundred publications related to nursing care,

education for advanced practice in nursing and nursing research. She stated that nursing is based

on an art and science that mould the attitudes, intellectual competencies, and technical skills of

the individual nurse into the desire and ability to help people, sick or well, cope with their health

needs. In 1960, influenced by the desire to promote client-centered comprehensive nursing care,

Abdellah described nursing as a service to individual, to families, and therefore to ,to society.

According to her approach to nursing is considered a human needs theory because it is patient-

centered practice. The individual is seen as a whole in which nursing care is directed to a more

individualized approach. It was intended to guide care of those hospitalized; however it is

relevant to nursing care as a whole. The theory was created to be a framework for nursing

education. She and her colleagues came up with twenty-one problems that nurses should focus

on in order to take a patient-centered approach.

2
 Abdellah’s Four Major Concept

Person

Abdellah describe people as having physical, emotional and sociological needs. These

needs may overt, consisting of largely physical needs, or covert such as emotional and social

needs. Patient is only described as only justification for the existence of nursing. Individuals

(families) are the recipients of nursing and also health, or achieving of it, is the purpose of

nursing service.

Health

In Abdellah’s patient centered approach to nursing, she describes as a state mutually

exclusive of illness. Although she not give a definition of health, she speaks to “total health

needs” and “a healthy state of body and mind” in her description of nursing as a comprehensive

service.

Social/Environment

Society is included of “planning optimum health on local, state, national and international

levels”. However, as she further delineated her ideas, the focus of nursing service is clearly the

individual. The environment is the home or community from which patient comes.

Nursing

Nursing is a helping profession. In Abdellah’s model of nursing care is doing something

to or for the person or providing information to the person with the goals of meeting needs,

increasing or restoring self-help, ability or alleviating impairment. Nursing is broadly grouped

into 21 problems areas to guide care and promote use of nursing judgment. She considers nursing
to be comprehensive service that is based on art and science and aims to help people, sick or

well, cope with their health needs.

Assumptions in the Theory

The assumptions Abdellah’s “21 Nursing Problems Theory” relate to change and
anticipated changes that affect nursing; the need to appreciate the interconnectedness of social
enterprises and social problems; the impact of problems such as poverty, racism, pollution,
education, and so forth on health and health care delivery; changing nursing education;
continuing education for professional nurses; and development of nursing leaders from
underserved groups.

1. Learn to know the patient.

2. Sort out relevant and significant data.
3. Make generalizations about available data concerning similar nursing problems presented
by other patients.
4. Identify the therapeutic plan.
5. Test generalizations with the patient and make additional generalizations.
6. Validate the patient’s conclusions about his nursing problems.
7. Continue to observe and evaluate the patient over a period of time to identify any
attitudes and clues affecting this behavior.
8. Explore the patient’s and family’s reaction to the therapeutic plan and involve them in the
plan.
9. Identify how the nurse feels about the patient’s nursing problems.
10. Discuss and develop a comprehensive nursing care plan.
 Twenty One Nursing Problems
4
The 21 nursing problems fall into three categories: physical, sociological, and emotional
needs of patients; types of interpersonal relationships between the patient and nurse; and
common elements of patient care. She used Henderson’s 14 basic human needs and nursing
research to establish the classification of nursing problems. Abdellah’s 21 Nursing Problems are
the following:

1. To maintain good hygiene and physical comfort.

2. To promote optimal activity: exercise, rest, sleep
3. To promote safety by preventing accidents, injuries, or other trauma and preventing the
spread of infection.
4. To maintain good body mechanics and prevent and correct the deformity.
5. To facilitate the maintenance of a supply of oxygen to all body cells.
6. To facilitate the maintenance of nutrition for all body cells.
7. To facilitate the maintenance of elimination.
8. To facilitate the maintenance of fluid and electrolyte balance.
9. To recognize the physiologic responses of the body to disease conditions—pathologic,
physiologic, and compensatory.
10. To facilitate the maintenance of regulatory mechanisms and functions.
11. To facilitate the maintenance of sensory function.
12. To identify and accept positive and negative expressions, feelings, and reactions.
13. To identify and accept interrelatedness of emotions and organic illness.
14. To facilitate the maintenance of effective verbal and nonverbal communication.
15. To promote the development of productive interpersonal relationships.
16. To facilitate progress toward achievement and personal spiritual goals.
17. To create or maintain a therapeutic environment.
 18. To facilitate awareness of self as an individual with varying physical, emotional, and
developmental needs.
19. To accept the optimum possible goals in the light of limitations, physical and emotional.
20. To use community resources as an aid in resolving problems that arise from an illness.
21. To understand the role of social problems as influencing factors in the cause of illness.
Moreover, patients’ needs are further divided into four categories: basic to all
5
patients, sustenance care needs, remedial care needs, and restorative care needs.
 Guideline Questions
5

1. What concepts are presented that list and classify the nursing components of interests?

2. How does the theory define the person, health, environment and nursing?

3. What are the specific statements that clarify exactly what the theory is trying to describe?

-The theory trying to describe the typology of 21 nursing problems, it is a conceptual

model mainly concerned with patient’s needs and nurse’s role problem identification using a

problem analysis approach. Her theory changed the focus of nursing from disease centered to

patient-centered approach was developed inductively from her practice and is considered a

human needs theory. According to her approach to nursing is considered a human needs theory

because it is patient-centered practice. The individual is seen as a whole in which nursing care is

directed to a more individualized approach. It was intended to guide care of those hospitalized;

however it is relevant to nursing care as a whole. The theory was created to be a framework for

nursing education. She and her colleagues came up with twenty-one problems that nurses should

focus on in order to take a patient-centered approach. (McEwen & Wills, 2014).

4. What types of definitions are used in the theory, theoretical or operational? Give an example

in any type of definitions that utilized by the theorist.

-The Patient-Centered Approaches to Nursing are used in the theory is theoretical

because, Faye Abdellah’s theory is a set of problems that she formulated in terms of nursing-
centered services used to determine the patient’s needs. The nursing-centered orientation to

client care appears to be contradicting the client-centered approach that Abdellah professes to

support. This can be observed by her desire to move away from a disease-centered orientation.

5. What are the links or relationships between terms, concepts and theoretical assertions?

-The relationships between the terms, concepts and theoretical assertions of the theory,

According to Abdellah the concept of health, and nursing problems and problem solving are

inherently in logical nature. She described that the individual is the focus of nursing practice

because it requires a true partnership between the individual and health care professionals since it

influences the nurse’s judgment in selecting steps in solving the patient’s problem. The theory

focus on the body of nursing knowledge itself ,the identification of patient problems, the

organization of nursing interventions, and the improvement of nursing education.

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References

https://nurseslabs.com/faye-g-abdellahs-21-nursing-problems-theory/

https://www.scribd.com/document/370519151/Faye-Glenn-Abdellah-s-Nursing-Theory-

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