OUR LADY OF LOURDES COLLEGE FOUNDATION

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Tel. No. (054) 721-1368, Fax No. (054) 721-2610)

MODULE 9

NCM 100

THEORETICAL FOUNDATION IN NURSING

BETTY NEUMAN
SYSTEMS MODEL

BSN 1

1ST Semester
OLLCF

IRENE FLOR R. YEBRA, MSN

Instructor

No part of this learning material may be reproduced or distributed

in any form without prior permission from the author.
 OUR LADY OF LOURDES COLLEGE FOUNDATION
Vinzons Ave., Daet, Camarines Norte, 4600, Philippines
Tel. No. (054) 721-1368, Fax No. (054) 721-2610)

“Health is a condition in which all parts and subparts are in harmony with
the whole of the client.”

Systems theory
 The body is a system of its parts.
 Human beings is as open system who react and adjust itself to the environment.
 It relies on a delicate chemical and environmental balance to secure its survival.
 It constantly maintains homeostasis with both internal and external forces from moment to
moment.
 Without these complicated and sensitive balance , the entire human system crashes and the
result is death.

BETTY NEUMAN – “SYSTEMS MODEL”

 Born 1924 in Lowell, Ohio, of a simple parents a farmer and a homemaker.

 Her love for nursing started when she took the responsibility of taking care of her father which
later created her compassion in her chosen career path.
 In 1947, she received her RN Diploma from Peoples Hospital School of Nursing, Akron, Ohio.
 In 1985, Betty Neuman concluded a doctoral degree in clinical psychology at Pacific Western
University. She was a pioneer of nursing involvement in mental health.
 She is a Fellow of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy and of the
American Academy of Nursing. Until 2009.
 In 1970, Betty Neuman designed a nursing conceptual model to expand students’ understanding
of client variables beyond the medical model. Her teaching programs at UCLA paved the way for
developing her nursing model.
 In 1972, Neuman published a draft of her model. She developed and improved the concepts and
published her book, The Neuman System Model: Application to Nursing Education and Practice,
in 1982.

Nursing Theory developed by Betty Neuman is described as:

 Based on the person’s relationship to stress, the response to it, and reconstitution factors that
are progressive in nature.
 The Neuman Systems Model presents a broad, holistic and system-based method to nursing
that maintains a factor of flexibility.
 The Neuman Systems Model views the client as an open system that responds to stressors in
the environment.
 The client variables are physiological, psychological, sociocultural, developmental, and
spiritual.
 Nursing interventions occur through three prevention modalities. Primary prevention occurs
before the stressor invades the system; secondary prevention occurs after the system has
reacted to an invading stressor; tertiary prevention occurs after secondary prevention as
reconstitution is being established.

Metaparadigm

 PERSON
 Concept of a person as an individual, family, community or the society.
 A person as an open system works together with other parts of its body as it interact
with the environment
 An open system is characterized presence of exchange of information and reaction with
other factors surrounding a person.
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in any form without prior permission from the author.
 OUR LADY OF LOURDES COLLEGE FOUNDATION
Vinzons Ave., Daet, Camarines Norte, 4600, Philippines
Tel. No. (054) 721-1368, Fax No. (054) 721-2610)

 NURSING
 Requires holistic approach, that considers all factors affecting a client’s health. The
nurse must be able to adjust to meet the individual and unique needs of every client.
 The main role of the nurse in her theory is to help a person adapt with environmental
stimuli causing illnesses back to a state of wellness.
 HEALTH
 Health is dynamic in nature
 It depends on which health continuum they are in line with, either in state of wellness
or illness.
 State of wellness exist when all the part or the system of person works harmoniously.
 State of Illness results from disharmonious system due to unmet needs of a person.
 The state of health varies according to the degree of reaction a person has to
environmental forces.
 ENVIRONMENT
 Can be 1. external or 2. internal, and 3. created forces that interact with a person’s state
of health.
 Forces are stressors .
 Env’t can alter or improve the systems in which a person exist.

TYPES OF STRESSORS:
1. Intrapersonal – occurs within the self and comprises of a man as a psychospiritual
being.
2. Interpersonal – occurs between one or more individual and consist of man as a
social being
3. Created environment is unconsciously developed and is used by the client to support
protective coping.

3 Levels of Prevention:
I. Primary Prevention
II. Secondary Prevention
III. TERTIARY PREVENTION

BETTY NEUMAN’S SYSTEM’s MODEL IN NURSING

 CLIENT VARIABLES
 LINES OF RESISTANCE
 NORMAL LINE OF DEFENSE
 FLEXIBLE LINE OF DEFENSE
 STRESSORS
 REACTION
 PREVENTION
 RECONSTITUTION

Client Variables

Neuman views the individual client holistically and considers the variables simultaneously and
comprehensively.

 The physiological variable refers to the structure and functions of the body.
 The psychological variable refers to mental processes and relationships.

No part of this learning material may be reproduced or distributed

in any form without prior permission from the author.
 OUR LADY OF LOURDES COLLEGE FOUNDATION
Vinzons Ave., Daet, Camarines Norte, 4600, Philippines
Tel. No. (054) 721-1368, Fax No. (054) 721-2610)

 The sociocultural variable refers to system functions that relate to social and
culturalexpectations and activities.
 The developmental variable refers to those processes related to development over the
lifespan.
 The spiritual variable refers to the influence of spiritual beliefs.

Flexible line of defense

A protective accordion-like mechanism that surrounds and protects the normal line of defense
from invasion by stressors.

Normal line of defense

An adaptational level of health developed over time and considered normal for a particular
individual client or system; it becomes a standard for wellness-deviance determination.

Lines of resistance

Protection factors activated when stressors have penetrated the normal line of defense, causing
a reaction symptomatology.

Stressors

A stressor is any phenomenon that might penetrate both the flexible and normal lines of
defense, resulting in either a positive or negative outcome.

 Intrapersonal stressors are those that occur within the client system boundary and correlate
with the internal environment.
 Interpersonal stressors occur outside the client system boundary, are proximal to the
system, and have an impact on the system.
 Extrapersonal stressors also occur outside the client system boundaries but are at a greater
distance from the system that are interpersonal stressors. An example is social

Stability

A state of balance or harmony requiring energy exchanges as the client adequately copes with
stressors to retain, attain, or maintain an optimal level of health thus preserving system integrity.

Degree of Reaction
The amount of system instability resulting from stressor invasion of the normal line of defense.

Reconstitution

The return and maintenance of system stability, following treatment of stressor reaction, which
may result in a higher or lower level of wellness.

No part of this learning material may be reproduced or distributed

in any form without prior permission from the author.
 OUR LADY OF LOURDES COLLEGE FOUNDATION
Vinzons Ave., Daet, Camarines Norte, 4600, Philippines
Tel. No. (054) 721-1368, Fax No. (054) 721-2610)

END OF MODULE 7.4

References:

Printed Materials:

George, Julia B.(2008). Nursing Theories: The Base for Professional Nursing Practice (5th Edition).
Pearson Education South Asia PTE. LTD. 2008.

Kozier, Barbara. Fundamentals of Nursing Concepts, Process & Practice 7th ed. (Local) C&E Publishing

McEwan, M. & Wills, Evelyn M. (2007). Theoretical Basis for Nursing. (2nd Edition). Lippincott Williams
&Wilkins

Octaviano, E. F & Balita, C. E. (2008). Theoretical Foundations of Nursing: The Philippine Perspective.
Ultimate Learning Series.
Electronic References:
1. https://nurseslabs.com/betty-neuman-systems-model-nursing-theory.

No part of this learning material may be reproduced or distributed

in any form without prior permission from the author.