Abdellah’s

Typology of 21
Nursing Problems

FAYE GLENN ABDELLAH

 History and Background
• Abdellah was born on March 13, 1919, in New York City.
• Dedicated her life to nursing and, as a researcher and
educator.
• Years later, March 6, 1937, the German hydrogen-fueled
airship Hindenburg exploded over Lakehurst, New Jersey.
• “I could see people jumping from the zeppelin and I did’nt
know how to care of them, so it was then that I vowed that
I would learn for nursing”
 EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
• Earned a nursing diploma from Fitkin Memorial
Hospital’s School of Nursing.
• Earned 3 degrees from Columbia University: A
Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing in 1945, a
Masters of Arts degree in Physiology in 1947 and a
Doctor of Education degree in 1955.
• “I never wanted to be an M.D. because I could do all I
wanted to do in nursing, which is caring profession.”
 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
• U.S Public Health Service
• Chief Nurse Officer
• First Deputy U.S. Surgeon General
• Founder and First Dean, Graduate School of Nursing
• Nursing Researcher and Theorist
• First woman to become a surgeon general as a nurse.
THEORIST’S APPROACH TO NURSING
According to Faye Glenn Abdellah’s
theory “Nursing is based on an art and
science that molds the attitudes,
intellectual competencies, and technical
skills of the individual nurse into the
desire and ability to help people, sick or
well, cope with their health needs”
 Abdellah and colleagues developed
a list of 21 nursing problem. They also
identified 10 steps to identify the client’s
problems and 11 nursing skills to be used
in developing treatment typology.
10 steps to identify the client’s problem:
• Learn to know to the patient
• Sort out relevant and significant data
• Make generalizations about available data
in relation to similar nursing problems
presented by other patients.
• Validate the patient conclusions about his
nursing problems
• Test generalization with the patient and
make additional generalizations
• Validate the patient conclusions about his
nursing problems
• Continue to observe and evaluate the
patient over a period of time to identify
any attitudes and clues affecting his
behavior
• Explore the patient’s and family’s reaction
to the therapeutic plan and involve them in
the plan
• Identify how the nurse feels about the
patient’s nursing problems
• Discuss and develop a comprehensive
nursing care plan
 11 Nursing skills
• Observation of health status
• Skills of communication
• Application of Knowledge
• Teaching of patients and families
• Planning and organization of work
• Use of resource material
• Use of personnel resources
• Problem-solving
• Direction of work of others
• Therapeutic use of the self
• Nursing procedures
TWENTY – ONE
NURSING
PROBLEMS
 Three Major Categories
• Physical sociological and emotional needs
of clients
• Types of interpersonal relationships
between the nurse and patient
• Common elements of client care
 CLASSIFICATION OF THE 21
NURSING PROBLEMS
• Basic to all the patients
• Sustenal care needs
• Remedial care needs
• Restorative care needs
Basic to all the patients

1. To maintain
good hygiene
and physical
comfort.
Basic to all the patients
2. To promote
optimal
activity:
exercise, rest,
sleep
Basic to all the patients
3. To promote safety
through prevention
of accidents, injury,
or other trauma and
through prevention
of the spread of
infection.
Basic to all the patients
4. To maintain
good body
mechanics and
prevent and
correct deformity
Sustenal care needs
5. To facilitate the
maintenance of
a supply of
oxygen to all
body cells
Sustenal care needs
6. To facilitate the
maintenance of
nutrition for all
body cells
Sustenal care needs
7. To facilitate
the
maintenance of
elimination
Sustenal care needs
8. To facilitate the
maintenance
fluid and
electrolyte
balance
Sustenal care needs
9. To recognize the
physiological
responses of the body
disease condition –
pathological
physiological, and
compensator
Sustenal care needs
10. To facilitate
the maintenance
of regulatory
mechanisms and
functions
Sustenal care needs
11. To facilitate
the maintenance
of sensory
function
Remedial care needs
12. To identify and
accept positive
and negative
expressions,
feelings, and
reactions
Remedial care needs
13. To identify and
accept
interrelatedness of
emotions and
organic illness
Remedial care needs
14.To facilitate the
maintenance of
effective verbal
and nonverbal
communication
Remedial care needs
15.To promote the
development of
productive
interpersonal
relationships
Remedial care needs
16. To facilitate the
progress toward
achievement and
personal spiritual
goals
Remedial care needs
17.To create or
maintain a
therapeutic
environment
Remedial care needs
18.To facilitate
awareness of self as
an individual with
varying physical,
emotional, and
developmental needs
Restorative Care Needs
19.To accept the
optimum possible
goals in the light
of limitations,
physical and
emotional
Restorative Care Needs
20. To use community
resources as an aid
in resolving
problem that arises
from illness
Restorative Care Needs
21.To understand the
role of social
problems as
influencing factors
in the cause of
illness
Theorists Framework Model
Theorist Metaparadigm Concept
a) Nursing
Nursing is a help
profession. Nursing care is
NURSING PERSON
doing something to or for the
person or providing
information to the person
HEALTH ENVIRONMENT
with the goals of meeting
needs, increasing or restoring
self-help ability, or alleviating
impairment.
Theorist Metaparadigm Concept
b) Person
NURSING PERSON
Abdellah
describes people as
having physical,
HEALTH
emotional, and
ENVIRONMENT

sociological needs.
Theorist Metaparadigm Concept
c) Health
NURSING PERSON
Describes health
as state of mutually
exclusive of illness.
HEALTH ENVIRONMENT
Theorist Metaparadigm Concept
d) Environment
NURSING PERSON The environment is
the home or community
from which patient comes.
HEALTH ENVIRONMENT
Theory and the Nursing Process
• A) Assessment – Nursing problems provide guidelines for the
collection data
• b) Diagnosis – The results of data collection would determine the
client’s specific overt or covert problems.
• c) Planning – The statements of nursing problems most closely
resemble goal statements. Therefore, once the problem has been
diagnosed, the goals have been established.
• d) Implementation – Using the goals as the framework, a plan is
developed and appropriate nursing interventions are determined.
• f) Evaluation – The most appropriate evaluation would be the nurse
progress or lack of progress toward the achievement of the stated
goals.
 Characteristics of the Theory
• Abdellah’s theory has interrelated the concepts
of health, nursing problems, and problem solving
• Framework focus on nursing practice and
individuals.
• Easy to apply in practice.
 REFERENCES
• Abdellah, F.G., Beland, I.L., Martin, A., & Matheney, R.V. Patiened-centered
approaches to nursing (2nd ed.). New York: Mac Millan. 1968.
• George Julia B. Nursing Theories: The base of professional nursing practice
3rd edition. Norwalk, CN: Appletton and Lange; 1990
• Gonzalo, A. (2014) Faye Glenn Abdellah: 21 Nursing Problem Theory.
Retrieved September 21, 2019 http://
www.google.com.ph/amp/s/nurseslabs.com/faye-g-abdellahs-21-
nursing-problems-theory/%3famp
• Quiambao, J. (2011) Theoritical Foundation Of Nursing (1st ed.). United
Nations Avenue Ermita, Manila: Educational Publishing House
•