BASIC NEEDS IN ELDERLY PATIENTS

Virginia Henderson provided a model based on the detection of the needs of the individual, family and community. A model like Virginia Henderson is able to provide a value system from which the nurse can address their role, assessing individual's health problems and plan objectives from both an autonomous and collaborative role with any health professional, in order to achieve maximum independence of the individual, family and community.

These needs are:

1. Need to breathing normally.

2. Need for food and drink properly.

3. Eliminating need for physiologically.

4. Need to moving and keep posture.

5. Need to sleep and rest.

6. Need to choose appropriate clothing. Dressing and undressing.

7. Need to stay warm.

8. Need to keep hygiene.

9. Need for security.

10. Need for to communicate with others.

11. Need to live according to their values ​​and beliefs.

12. Need to take care of something useful.

13. Need to practice activities.

14. Need to learn, to satisfy curiosity.

It belongs to the trend of substitution or assistance, Henderson sees the role of the nurse as the realization of the actions that the patient can not perform at a certain point of their life cycle (illness, childhood, old age), promoting a greater or less self-care by the patient, this theory lies in the category of humanistic nursing as art and science.

For Henderson function helps the individual and seeking their independence as soon as possible is the work that the nurse initiates and controls and in which the state owns. Henderson assumed that all human beings have a variety of satisfying basic human needs, these are usually covered by each individual when this healthy and have enough knowledge to do so.

The basic requirements are the same for all human beings and exist independently.

Here an article that how can we do to improve Older adults´Health and Quality of Life. Healthy Aging

The implementation of the conceptual model of Virginia Henderson, both frequently used in Europe, America and in the Spanish context, like in our Community Aragón, aims for the nursing profession:

Promote the independence of the individual in meeting their needs,

considering "need" as a vital requirement that a person must meet in order

to retain its balance physical, psychological, social or spiritual and ensuring their

optimal development (Phaneuf, 1999).

References: 

Vernet Aguiló F. Conceptos básicos de enfermería en la atención gerontológica según el Modelo V.Henderson. Gerokomos. 2007; v.18 (nº2).

DISPONIBLE EN: http://scielo.isciii.es/scielo.php?pid=S1134-928X2007000200004&script=sci_arttext

http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/publications/aag/pdf/healthy_aging.pdf