SEMINAR

ON
HENDERSON THEORY
KHUSHBOO
M.SC NURSING 1ST YEAR
MATA SAHIB KAUR COLLEGE OF NURSING,

MOHALI

THEORY
It is a group of concepts that propose action
that guide practice.
NURSING THEORY
Nursing theory is the term given to the body
of knowledge that is used to define or
explain various aspects of the profession of
nursing.

VIRGINIA HENDERSONS THEORY

Virginia Henderson Biography

Virginia Henderson was born on November 30, 1897 in Kansas City,
Missouri, and was the fifth of eight children in her family.

In 1921, Henderson graduated from the Army School of Nursing at

Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C. In 1932, she earned her
Bachelor's Degree and in 1934 earned her Master's Degree in Nursing
Education, from Teachers College at Columbia University.
Henderson died on March 19, 1996.

THE HENDERSON THEORY

In 1966, Virginia Hendersons definition of the unique function
of nursing was a major stepping stone separate from medicine.
Like Nightingale, Henderson describes nursing in relation to
client and clients environment.
Henderson (1966) conceptualizes the nurses role as assisting
sick or healthy individuals to gain independence in meeting 14
fundamental needs.

14 FUNDAMENTAL NEEDS:-

1. Breathing normally
2. Eating and drinking adequately
3. Eliminating body wastes.
4. Moving and maintaining a desirable posture.
5. Sleeping and resting

6. Selecting suitable clothes.

7. Maintaining body temperature with in normal range by adjusting
clothing and modifying the environment.

8. Keeping body clean and well groomed to protect the integument.

9. Avoid dangers in environment and avoid injuring others.
10. Communicating with others in expressing emotions,needs,fears or

CONT.

11. Worshipping according to ones faith.

12. Working in such a way that one feels a sense of accomplishment.

13. Playing or participating in various forms of recreation.

14. Learning, discovering and satisfying curiosity that leads to normal
development and health and using available health facilities.
The first 9 components are physiological. The 10th and 14th component are
psychological aspects of communicating and learning. The 11th component
is spiritual and moral. The 12th and 13th component are sociologically
oriented to occupation and reaction.

FOUR MAJOR FINDINGS

She believed that the function the nurse performs is
primarily the independent one- that of acting for the
patient when he lacks knowledge, physical strength
or the will to act for himself as he would ordinary act
in health or in carrying out prescribed therapy.

CONT.

METAPARADIGM OF THE THEORY

1.HUMAN OR INDIVIDUAL

Henderson considers the

biological,psychological,sociological and spiritual
components.
She defined the patient as someone who needs nursing
care, but did not limit nursing to illness care.

2.SOCIETY OR ENVIORNMENT
She did not define environment, but maintaining the
supportive environment is one of the essential elements of
her 14 activities
She sees individuals in relation to their families but
minimally discusses the impact of community on the
individual and family.

She believes that society wants and expects the nurses

service of acting for individuals who are unable to function
independently.

3.HEALTH

Health was not explicitly defined, but it

is taken to mean balance in all realms of
human life.

4. NURSING
Henderson believed that the unique function of
the nurse is to assist the individual, sick or well in
the performance of those activities contributing
to health or its recovery that he would perform
unaided if he had the necessary strength, will or
knowledge, and to do this in such a way as to
help him gain independence as rapidly as
possible.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF HENDERSON THEORY

Characteristic of Hendersons theory

There is interrelation of concepts.

Her definition and components are logical and the 14 components are
a guide for the individual and nurse in reaching the chosen goal.

Relatively simple yet generalizable.

Applicable to the health of individuals of all ages.

Can be the bases for hypotheses that can be tested.

Assist in increasing the general body of knowledge within the

discipline.

ASSUMPTIONS
The major assumptions of the theory are:1.Nurses care for patients until patient can care for themselves once again.
2.The patients desire to return to health, but this assumption is not explicitly
stated.
3.Nurses are willing to serve and that nurses will devote themselves to the patient
day and night.

4.A final assumption is that nurses should be educated at university level in both
arts and science.
5.Henderson also believed that mind and body are inseparable. It is implied that
the mind and body are interrelated.

STRENGTHS / WEAKNESS
Hendersons work is relatively simple yet
generalizable with some limitations. Her
work can be applied to the health of
individuals of all ages. Limited in a way
that it can generally be applied to fully
functional individuals.

CONT..

Strength
The concept of nursing formulated by Henderson in her
definition of nursing and the 14 components of basic
nursing is uncomplicated and self-explanatory. Therefore,
it can be used without difficulty as a guide for nursing
practice by most nurses.
Weakness
A major shortcoming in her work is the lack of a
conceptual linkage between physiological and other
human characteristics.

HENDERSONS NURSING PROCESS

Nursing Process
Nursing Assessment
Nursing Diagnosis
Nursing plan
Nursing implementation
Nursing implementation
Nursing process

Nursing evaluation

Hendersons 14 components and definition of

nursing
Hendersons 14 components
Analysis: Compare data to knowledge base of health and disease.
Identify individuals ability to meet own needs with or without assistance, taking into consideration
strength, will or knowledge.
Document how the nurse can assist the individual, sick or well.
Assist the sick or well individual in to performance of activities in meeting human needs to maintain health,
recover from illness, or to aid in peaceful death.
Implementation based on the physiological principles, age, cultural background, emotional balance, and
physical and intellectual capacities.
Carry out treatment prescribed by the physician.
Hendersons 14 components and definition of nursing
Use the acceptable definition of ;nursing and appropriate laws related to the practice of nursing.
The quality of care is drastically affected by the preparation and native ability of the nursing personnel
rather that the amount of hours of care.
Successful outcomes of nursing care are based on the speed with which or degree to which the patient
performs independently the activities of daily living

Comparison with Maslow's Hierarchy of Need

Maslow's

Henderson
Breathe normally

Physiological needs
Safety Needs
Belongingness and
love needs
Esteem needs

Eat and drink adequately Eliminate by all avenues of elimination

Move and maintain desirable posture Sleep and rest Select
suitable clothing Maintain body temperature Keep body clean
and well groomed and protect the integument
Avoid environmental dangers and avoid injuring other

Communicate with others

worship according to one's faith

Work at something providing a sense of accomplishment

Play or participate in various forms of recreation
Learn, discover, or satisfy curiosity

APPLICATION IN NURSING
Henderson's Definition of Nursing is still directly applicable to
professional nursing today. Nurses function to assist patients in
activities of daily living, especially those who are incapable of doing so
because
of
a
debilitating
condition.
The 14 Fundamental Needs described by Henderson, has been very
influential in the practice of nursing. It is very evident in the clinical
settings how the nurse carries the tasked to assist the client in meeting
his or her needs - may it be physical, social, emotional or spiritual by
addressing the patients ability to breath normally, eat and drink
adequately and eliminate body wastes as primary concerns that the
nurse
should
address.

CONT.

Breathing is vital and Hendersons first basic need of breathing

normally is at most assessed at all times. Administration of oxygen
should be given accordingly. Her application on nursing gives assertion
to initiate immediate provision of biological needs such as nasogastric
tube insertion for feeding to maintain nourishment, while catheterization
is suggested for patients requiring general surgeries to help them excrete
waste while on the process of inability to do it consciously.
She further elaborated that the mind and body is inseparable and
comprised as one entity. Her patient-centered theory stressed the
importance of the nurse's relationship to the patient and the development
of nursing practices. As a direct care giver, it will be rewarding to see the
patient as he progresses to independence. The promotion of assessment,
planning, implementation and evaluation of the 14 components of basic
nursing as a core basis should be considered at all times.

In Practice:

Assist nurses to describe, explain, and predict everyday experiences.

Serve to guide assessment, interventions, and evaluation of nursing care.

Provide a rationale for collecting reliable and valid data about the health status
of clients, which are essential for effective decision making and
implementation.
Help to describe criteria to measure the quality of nursing care.
Help build a common nursing terminology to use in communicating with other
health professionals.
Ideas are developed and words are defined.
Enhance autonomy (independence and self-governance) of nursing through
defining its own independent functions.

In Education:
Provide a general focus for curriculum design

Guide curricular decision making.

In Research:
Offer a framework for generating knowledge and new ideas.
Assist in discovering knowledge gaps in the specific field of study.
Offer a systematic approach to identify questions for study; select variables,
interpret findings, and validate nursing interventions.
Approaches to developing nursing theory
Borrowing conceptual frameworks from other disciplines.
Inductively looking at nursing practice to discover theories/concepts to explain
phenomena.
Deductively looking for the compatibility of a general nursing theory with
nursing practice.

INFLUENCE ON NURSING EDUCATION

Henderson has made numerous contributions in the nursing profession
which has been a basis of most nursing schools. Her definition along with
the 14 basic needs brought tremendous changes in our field of practice. It
has made advancement, especially in the teaching of nursing interventions
relevant to specific disease conditions. The theorist stated that, In order to
meet the persons health it is necessary to know him and his family, this
can only be accomplished by being with them and studying them. She
postulates, as part of the nursing process, that the nurse has to come up
with a plan of care and to develop an effective plan for the patient.

The assumption on the Activities of Daily Living (ADL), also

known as basic needs, still remains true and valid today. Though
in Hendersons theory, almost more than half of the activities
focuses on physiologic needs, she advocated holism to include
the psychosocial and spiritual dimensions of a person.

Limitations

Lack of conceptual linkage between physiological and other

human characteristics.

No concept of the holistic nature of human being.

If the assumption is made that the 14 components prioritized,
the relationship among the components is unclear.
Lacks inter-relate of factors and the influence of nursing care.
Assisting the individual in the dying process she contends that
the nurse helps, but there is little explanation of what the nurse
does.
Peaceful death is curious and significant nursing role.

Conclusion

Henderson provides the essence of what she believes is

a definition of nursing.
Her emphasis on basic human needs as the central focus
of nursing practice has led to further theory
development regarding the needs of the person and how
nursing can assist in meeting those needs.
Her definition of nursing and the 14 components of
basic nursing care are uncomplicated and selfexplanatory.

ANALYSIS
Some of the activities listed in Hendersons concepts can only be applied
to fully functional individuals indicating that there would always be
patients who always require aided care which is in contrary to the goal of
nursing indicated in the definition of nursing by Henderson.
Because of the absence of a conceptual diagram, interconnections
between the concepts and subconcepts of Hendersons principle are not
clearly delineated.

CRITIQUE OF HER THEORY

This presents an analysis and evaluation of Hendersons nursing theory using Fawcett`s
framework of analysis and evaluation of conceptual models of nursing . Henderson came up with
a definition of nursing because of the observed differences in how nursing is defined, both by
society and the nurses themselves. She felt it was necessary for nurses to have at least a guiding
principle of what to them is nursing and act accordingly to that principle. Moreover, during that
time, nurses functions were not identified programs for skills training and even education varied
from school to school, to countries and even in hospitals. There were also legal barriers to how
nurses should carry out their duties, which made the professions position in healthcare
ambiguous and misunderstood. The conceptual model of nursing developed by Henderson
followed the humanistic approach, in which it emphasized the caring of the sick, the incapable
and even the dying. It stressed more on what the nurses should do and who should they take care
of and thus belongs to the reciprocal interaction world view category. The model also stressed
that as soon as the patients are able nurses should be able to assist them in their recovery and if
not to care for them in regaining their dignity and basic functioning. The person as defined in
Hendersons model is all encompassing it applies to the sick, the well and the dying.

REFERENCES

Kathleen Koenig Blais, Professional Nursing Practice,

Published by: Dorling Kindersley, 5th Edition, page no.99.
Joseph .T. Catalanos, Nursing Now, Jaypee publishers, 4th
Edition, page no.54-58.
Joan L.Creasia, The Bridge to professional nursing practice,
Mosby publishers, 3rd Edition, Page no.115-125.
Kay Kittrell Chitty, Professional nursing concepts and
challenges, Elsevier publishers, 4th Edition, Page no.286.
Kozier and Erbs, Fundamentals of nursing, Peason publisher,
8th Edition, Page no.43-44.

THANK

THANK
YOUYOU