1. “ENVIRONMENTAL THEORY”
by
Florence Nightingale
Maureen Ong
December 7, 2013

2. General Objectives:
 To
be able to learn the relevance of the
environmental theory in the nursing
science and practice

3. Specific Objectives
 To
be able to know a brief history of Ms.
Florence Nightingale
 To be able to identify the purpose of the
environmental theory
 To be able to understand how the
environment affects patient outcomes

4. A Brief History in the Life of
Ms. Florence Nightingale
May 12, 1980 - August 13, 1910

5. Florence Nightingale
 She
was born in Florence, Italy
 She believed that God called her to
become a nurse
 The Mother of Modern Nursing
 The “lady with the lamp” – Crimean War
 She is a linguist, and educated in science,
mathematics, literature and arts
 The first Nurse Educator and First Nurse
Statistician

6. Florence Nightingale
 July
6, 1851
- entered in the nursing school of Ptr.
Theodor Fleidner as the 134th nursing student
and graduated after 3 months.
 Became the “lady with the lamp”
because she was carrying the lamp at
night when she was looking for
wounded soldiers in the Crimean War

7. Florence Nightingale
 Became
a heroine in Great Britain
because of her role in the Crimean War.
 She reduced the mortality rate of the
wounded soldiers from 42.7% to 2.2%
because of her intervention in the
environment.

8. What is Nursing?
“The
act
of
utilizing
the
environment of the patient to assist
him in his recovery”
-
Nightingale (1869)

9. NIGHTINGALE’S
ENVIRONMENTAL MODEL

11. 13 CANONS OF
NIGHTINGALE’S THEORY (1860)











Health of Houses
Ventilation and Warming
Light
Noise
Variety
Bed and Bedding
Cleanliness of the Rooms and Walls
Personal Cleanliness
Taking Food – What Food?
Observation of the Sick
Petty Management

12. Five Environmental Factors –
the absence of one produced lack of health or sickness
Pure or fresh
air
Pure water
light
Health
cleanliness
Efficient
drainage

13. Metaparadigm in Nursing
Nursing
- must place the patient in the best
condition for nature to act upon him
- It should provide for the patient the
major components of the environment .
- should fully maximize the reparative
process of a patient by controlling the
environment
1.

14. Metaparadigm in Nursing
Nursing
- Nursing should provide care to the sick
as well as the healthy
- Health promotions must be initiated by
the nurse

15. Metaparadigm in Nursing
2. Person
- She views the person as a passive
recipient of care
- The nurse should control the
environment
- The nurse should perform the task to
and for the patient

16. Metaparadigm in Nursing
3. Health
- “ Health is a well being and using
every power that the person has to the full
extent.
- “Disease” is a reparative process
that the nature instituted for a want of
attention

17. Metaparadigm in Nursing
Health
- Maintenance of health can be done
through the prevention of disease by controlling
the environment.
- Health must be the goal of nursing
therefore the nurse must assist
- The nurse must provide assistance for
the patient to stay in balance with the
environmental factors

18. Metaparadigm in Nursing
4. Environment
- Physical environment is very
important because everything that
surrounds the patient have an impact on
their health
- She believed that sick, poor people
could benefit from environmental
improvement.

19. Nightingale and the Nursing
Process
Assessment
Diagnosis
Planning
Intervention
Evaluation
a. Always ask
what the client
wants and
needs.
must reflect
the response
of the client
to the
environment
and not the
environment
al problem. It
must show
the
significance
of the
environment
to the health
and wellbeing of the
client
Planning is
focused on
modifying the
environment of
the client to
enhance the
client’s ability to
respond to the
disease process.
The desired
outcome must
still be based on
the
environmental
model.
This should
take place
within the
environment of
the client and
having actions
that involves
the
modification of
the
environment of
the patient.
This must be
based on the
effects of the
changes in
the
environment
on the ability
of the client
to regain
health at the
least
expense of
energy.
Observation
is to be used
for the
evaluation.
b. The nurse
should use her
observation
skills especially
with the
environment
concerning
the individual

20. Critiques on the
Environmental
Theory

21. 1. What is the historical context
of the theory?
 Her
work in the mid 1800’s provided the
basis for modern nursing especially both in
education and practice.
 Her exposure to the Crimean War leads
to the development of an
epidemiological approach to improve
the quality of the environment for the
injured and ill at Scutari.

22. 2. What are the basic concepts and
relationships presented by the theory?

The major concepts of this theory is the
canons of the environmental model
which includes ventilation, noise, air,
health of houses, variety in the
environment, light, bedding, cleanliness,
chattering hopes and nutrition.

23. 3. What major phenomena of
concern to nursing are presented?
 Nightingale’s
main focus is the
environment and its manipulation to help
the patient attain maximum health.

24. 4. To whom does this theory apply?
In what situations? In what way?
 The
environmental theory is very general
that it can be applied in all kinds of
environments such as homes, community,
and work sites and even in the most
complex type of hospital intensive care
environment. The concepts of pure air,
light, noise and cleanliness are very much
applicable across specific environment

25. 5. Does this theory affect critical
thinking in the nursing practice?
 Manipulation
of the environment could
lead to the betterment or further
downgrade of the health of person
therefore critical thinking needs to be
utilized.

26. 7. Does this theory direct therapeutic
nursing interventions?
 The
environmental theory has directed
the nursing interventions towards the
modification of the environment.
 With the emphasis that noise, light, and
ventilation can be and should be
controlled and variety should be provided
in order to maximize the patient’s
response to intervention.

27. Reference:
Books
 George, Julia B.(2001). Nursing Theories: The Base for Professional
Nursing Practice. Upper Saddle River NJ:Prentice Hall

McEwen Melanie and Wills, Evelyn M.(2007) Theoretical Basis for
Nursing (2 ed.) Philadelphia:Lippincot Williams & Wilkins

Octaviano, Eufemia F. and Balita, Carl E.(2008). Theoretical
Foundations of Nursing: The Philippine Perspective. Philippines :
Ultimate Learning Series
Journals
 (2012,02) Metaparadigm in
Nursing.StudyMode.com.www.studymode.com/essays/Metaparadi
gm-in-Nursing-911796.html

28. Thank you!!!