Running head: Research Topic and Theory Integration

Research Topic and Theory Integration

Bosede Adedire, BSN, RN
Coppin State University
Theoretical Foundations for the Practice of Nursing
Nurs 620
Dr. Johnson
January 13, 2013

Research theory

Dorothea Orems self-care deficit theory conceptualizes different aspect of nursing services
that are paramount to the provision of successful nursing care. The purpose of Orems model was
to define nursing focus in reference to mans need for self-care action and the provision and
management of such need on a continuous basis in order to sustain life and health, to recover
from disease or injury and to cope with their effect. The model (as cited by Alligood & Tomey,
2010), explains that there is a connection between man and the environment and together man
and the environment form an integrated whole. Further, Orems model has a root in community
service, and perceives nursing as a community service that requires the encounter of a nurse with
a patient to prevent illness and to promote health. The model emphasizes the need to build the
patients self or ego to foster compliance and patient empowerment making them their own selfcare advocate. Likewise, my proposed research is a community based research of vulnerable
adults that resides at home or in the community, who needs nursing care and services. Dorothea
Orems model theory would guide my research through her provision of a concise structure to
providing nursing care to identified study population.
Orems theory has several concepts, major concepts from the theory are:
Self-Care Concept (as cited by Alligood & Tomey, 2010), comprises of independent self-care of
individuals to promote health by meeting requisites for functional and developmental
regulations.
Dependent Care (as cited by Alligood & Tomey, 2010), refers to care provided to someone who
is unable to perform needed self-care to maintain life, healthful functioning, continuing personal
development and well-being.

Research theory

Self-Care Requisites (as cited by Alligood & Tomey, 2010), refers to formulated and expressed
insight about actions to be performed that are known or hypothesized to be necessary in the
regulation of an aspect of human functioning and development.
Universal Self-Care Requisites of Orems model refers to goals that are needed to be met through
self-care or dependent care and they have their origin in what is known, or what is validated or
what is in the process of being validated, about human structural and functional integrity at
various stages of the life cycle. These include maintenance of air, food, water and more.
Health Deviation Self-Care Requisites is a concept that exists for persons who are ill or injured,
who have specific pathological conditions or disorders, including defects and disabilities,
persons who are under medical diagnosis and treatment. This concept explains that the type of
care needed by individual differs as their prognosis progresses.
Therapeutic Self-Care Demand model consists of the summation of care measures necessary at
specific times, or over a duration of time to meet an individuals entire known self-care requisite
for existence conditions and circumstances by appropriate methods.
Self-Care Agency model is a complex acquired ability of mature and maturing persons to know
and meet their continuing requirements for deliberate, purposive action to regulate their own
human functioning and development.
Nursing Agency concept of Orems theory comprises developed capabilities of persons educated
as nurses that empower them to represent themselves as nurses and within the frame of a
legitimate interpersonal relationship to act, to know and to help persons in such relationships to
meet their therapeutic self-care demands and to regulate the development or exercise of their
self-care agency.

Research theory

Helping Methods model is a sequential series of actions that if performed will overcome or
compensate for the health associated limitations of persons to regulate their own functioning or
that of their dependents.
Dorothea Orems theory of meta-paradigm of person, health, environment and nursing
defines major components surrounding the models structure. The model concept defines:
Person: As a recipient of nursing care, who functions socially, physically and psychologically,
capable of human development and can learn to meet self-care needs. The model identifies a
person as an individual that is capable of maintaining optimal well-being, provided necessary
nursing guidance is given.
Health: Defines how an individual functions in everyday living and progressive movement
towards higher and higher level of integration and functioning.
Environment: An individual and the environment are a functional unit in which exchange are
reciprocal and influence is mutual, individuals are viewed as existing in their environments and
never isolated from them.
Nursing: This concept defines the ability to assist others in design, provision and management of
self-care to improve or maintain human function at some level of effectiveness.
The research question in my proposal: Does care giver perception of vulnerability
influence care outcome? My rationale for the research is to provide a path to incorporate useful
proven criteria to identify vulnerability in the adult population, to have the capacity to increase
the probability of having more effective and adaptive care outcome for the adult population,
which recent studies have not been able to provide clear direction as to what criteria to apply in
identifying vulnerability in the adult population dwelling in the community.

Research theory

Research Variables in My Research Proposal:

Vulnerability: Cassidy, Coverdale, Naik, & Nair (2010) explain vulnerability as the failure to
independently care for self and maintain well-being while preventing illness (para. 2).
Caregiver Perception: This variable describes what caregivers perceive as being vulnerable while
providing care to care recipient.
Care Outcome: This will describe missed assessment not planned for.
Home Care: Health care provided to people living in their own home or in the community.
Orems theory would guide my research proposal by providing plausible approaches to
building a comprehensive report to identifying vulnerability in older adults. The theory will help
define identified concepts and propose relationships between vulnerability and care outcome in
the adult population dwelling in the community. Orems theory will fit into the problem being
investigated and will guide and enrich the study findings. Likewise, the conceptual definitions
from Orems model will guide the proposed studys identified concepts. Data collection process
will be congruent with the framework of the model theory. Furthermore, the theory will help
develop clinical practice protocols using its major concept models. Orems self-care deficit
model will help refine and interpret the research findings in light of explanations provided by its
framework, implications of study research will be based on the explanatory power of Orems
model structure.

Alligood, M., R. & Tomey, A. (2010). Nursing theorists and their work. 7th ed.
Mosby Elsevier.

Research theory

Cassidy, R., Coverdale. J., Naik., Nair. (2010). Assessing Safe and Independent Living in
Vulnerable Older Adults. Journal of American Board of Family Medicine Vol. 23 No. 5.
doi: 10.3122/jabfm.2010.05.090065