Assignment Guidelines
Select one of the following nursing theories:
Dorothea Orem: Self-Care Deficit Theory
Madeleine Leininger: Theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality
Jean Watson: Theory of Human Caring
Review the theory. Write a one- to two-page paper using APA format describing the following:
The theory
The level of abstraction
The components of the theory
The development of the theory.
Include a title page and reference list.
this is an example of my friend’s and she got all the points for the assignment
Assignment 2.1: Nursing Theory Development and Classification
The Self-Care Deficit Theory was first introduced in 1959 by Dorothea Orem and
continued to develop until 2001. It is also referred to as Orem’s Model of Nursing and was
created to help improve nursing practice. This theory proposes that an objective of nursing
practice is to ensure that the patient and family members are able to meet the individual’s self-
care needs to promote their health and independence (Naz, 2017). This theory also explains the
relationship between the patient and the nurse and can be broken down into four smaller theories
that include the theory of self-care, theory of dependent care, theory of self-care deficit, and
theory of nursing systems (Smith & Parker, 2015, p. 128).
Level of Abstraction & Components of the Theory
The Self-Care Deficit Theory is a grand nursing theory. It is categorized as a grand nursing
theory because it involves abstract concepts that depict certain aspects of care that patients
experience and their response to this (McEwen & Wills, 2019, p. 74). Additionally, it can be
applied to each nursing discipline and/or specialty and directs attention to the nurse-patient
relationship, along with the duty of the nurse. And as previously mentioned, four connected
theories go along with this. These parts of the theory focus on actions and behaviors patients
perform themselves, why nursing is needed when a patient experiences a deficit, the relationship
between the nurse, patient, and nursing system, and the support and education nurses must
provide (Smith & Parker, 2015, p. 129).
According to the American Sentinel University (2020), Orem defined this as “the act of
assisting others in the provision and management of self-care to maintain or improve human
functioning at the home level of effectiveness.” The concepts associated with this theory are either
patient-related or nurse-related. They consist of self-care/dependent care, self-care
agency/dependent-care agency, therapeutic self-care demand/dependent-care demand, and self-
care deficit/dependent-care deficit, and the nursing agency and nursing system (Smith & Parker,
2015, p. 109). Furthermore, the main components of the theory incorporate nursing, humans, the
environment, health, self-care, self-care agency, basic conditioning factors, therapeutic self-care
demand, self-care deficit, the nursing agency, and the system (Gonzalo, 2021). See Figure 8.1. Next,
the assumptions of this theory are that people should be self-reliant, and responsible for their
care, as well as others in their family who need care, people are distinct individuals, nursing is a
form of action and is an interaction between two or more people, successfully meeting universal
and development self-care requisites is an important component of primary care prevention and
ill health, a person’s knowledge of potential health problems is needed for promoting self-care
behaviors, and self-care and dependent care are behaviors learned within a socio-cultural context
(Nursing Theory, 2020).
Development of the Theory
Lastly, “theory development seeks to help the nurse understand practice in a more
complete and insightful way and provides a method of identifying and expressing key ideas
about the essence of practice” (McEwen & Wills, 2019, p. 73). This theory was developed based
on a relationship between theory, research, and practice. Orem was able to gather information
from patients, find ways to help them meet their healthcare needs, and offer education and
support to ensure they are involved in their care and improve their overall health. Ultimately,
this theorist’s works greatly influenced nursing practice and “presented a method in determining
self-care deficits and defining the roles of persons or nurses to meet the self-care demands”
(Gonzalo, 2021).
References
American Sentinel University. (2021, March 15). Dorothea Orem: Pioneer of the Self-care
Nursing Theory. Retrieved May 09, 2021, from
https://www.americansentinel.edu/blog/2020/07/11/dorothea-orem-pioneer-of-the-self-
care-nursing-theory/
Gonzalo, A. (2021, March 5). Dorothea Orem: Self Care Deficit theory study guide.
https://nurseslabs.com/dorothea-orems-self-care-theory/#major_concepts_of_the_self-
care_deficit_theory.
Naz, S. (2017). Application of Dorothea Orem’s Theoryinto Nursing Practice. Journal of
Rehman Medical Institute , 3, 34–37.
Nursing Theory. (2020, July 19). Orem’s Self-Care Deficit Nursing Theory. Alice Petiprin,
Nursing-Theory.org. https://nursing-theory.org/theories-and-models/orem-self-care-deficit-
theory.php.
Smith, M. C., & Parker, M. E. (2020). Nursing theories and nursing practice. F.A. Davis
Company.
