In 1970 she began developing her Systems Model as a way to teach introductory nursing to students by giving them a holistic view of patients that included the physiological, psychological, sociological, and developmental aspects. It was first developed as a graduate course guide, and in 1972, the May/June edition of Nursing Research published “A model for teaching total person approach to patient problems.” In 1974, Neuman’s model was refined and published in Conceptual Models for Nursing Practice. It was classified as a systems model, and was titled “The Betty Neuman Health-Care Systems Model: A Total Person Approach to Patient Problems.” In this publication, the term “patient” was replaced with the term “client.”
The Neuman Systems Model is based on the patient’s relationship to stress, reaction to it, and reconstitution factors that are dynamic. The Neuman Systems Model is universal in nature, which allows it to be adapted to a variety of situations, and to be interpreted in many different ways.
The central philosophy of Neuman’s nursing theory consists of energy resources that are surrounded by three things: several lines of resistence, which represent the internal factors helping the patient fight against a stressor; the normal line of defense, which represents the patient’s equilibrium; and the flexible line of defense, which represents the dynamic nature that can rapidly change over a short time.
In the Neuman Systems Model, the nurse’s role is to keep the system’s stability by using three levels of prevention. The first is primary prevention, which protects the normal line and strengthens the flexible line of defense. The secondary prevention is used to strengthen the internal lines of resistence, which reduces the reaction and increases resistence factors. Finally, tertiary prevention readapts, stabilizes, and protects the patient’s return to wellness after treatment.
For more detailed information: Neuman’s Systems Model
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