Margaret Newman's Health as Expanding Consciousness PDF

HEALTH AS EXPANDING CONSCIOUSNESS PRESENTED: 1978, NY MARGARET A. NEWMAN OCTOBER 10, 1933-DECEMBER 18, 2019 (86 YEARS OLD) MARGARET A. NEWMAN BACKGROUND Born October 10, 1933, Memphis Tennessee Bachelor’s degree in English and Economics, Waco Texas Bachelor’s de...

HEALTH AS EXPANDING CONSCIOUSNESS PRESENTED: 1978, NY MARGARET A. NEWMAN OCTOBER 10, 1933-DECEMBER 18, 2019 (86 YEARS OLD) MARGARET A. NEWMAN BACKGROUND Born October 10, 1933, Memphis Tennessee Bachelor’s degree in English and Economics, Waco Texas Bachelor’s degree in Nursing in University of Tennessee in 1962 Master’s degree in Medical-Surgical Nursing, University of California in 1964 Doctorate - New York University in 1971 Held academic positions in different Universities Achieved numerous honors and awards including an American Academy of Nursing Living Legend in 2008 Published numerous papers, articles, book chapters and books on theory and her theory of health as expanding consciousness Died on December 18, 2019 THEORETICAL SOURCES Personal family experience while caring for her mother with restricted body movement due to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis She was influenced by following theorists: Martha Rogers theory of Unitary Human Beings - main basis Hegel’s Fusion of Opposites Itzhak Bentov – The concept of evolution of consciousness Arthur Young – The Theory of Process David Bohm – The Theory of Implicate MAJOR CONCEPTS AND DEFINITIONS HEALTH is the “pattern of the whole” of a person and includes diseases as manifestation of the whole based on the premise that life is an ongoing process of expanding consciousness. “a transformative process to more inclusive consciousness” MAJOR CONCEPTS AND DEFINITIONS PATTERN Is information that depicts the whole and understanding of the meaning of all of the relationships at once. Identifies an individual as a particular person. Characteristics of pattern include movement, diversity and rhythm Example of Pattern: Genetic Pattern Voice Pattern Movement Pattern MAJOR CONCEPTS AND DEFINITIONS CONSCIOUSNESS Is both the informational capacity of the system and the ability of the system to interact with its environment. The three correlates of consciousness (time, movement and space) as manifestation of the pattern of the whole. MAJOR CONCEPTS AND DEFINITIONS MOVEMENT-SPACE-TIME Newman emphasizes the importance of examining movement-space-time together as dimensions of emerging patterns of consciousness rather than as a separate concept of the theory.  ASSUMPTIONS 1. Health encompasses conditions heretofore described as illness, or in medical terms, pathology. 2. These “pathological” conditions can be considered a manifestation of the total pattern of the individual. 3. The pattern of the individual that eventually manifests itself as pathology is primary and exists prior to structural or functional changes 4. Removal of the pathology in itself will not change the pattern of the individual. 5. If becoming ill is the only way an individual's pattern can manifest itself, then that is health for that person Health is an expansion of consciousness. DESCRIPTION OF THE THEORY The theory of health as expanding consciousness (HEC) was stimulated by concern for those for whom health as the absence of disease or disability is not possible. Nurses often relate to such people: people facing the uncertainty, debilitation, loss and eventual death associated with chronic illness. The theory has progressed to include the health of all persons regardless of the presence or absence of disease. The theory asserts that every person in every situation, no matter how disordered and hopeless it may seem, is part of the universal process of expanding consciousness – a process of becoming more of oneself, of finding greater meaning in life, and of reaching new dimensions of connectedness with other people and the world” (Newman, 2010). DESCRIPTION OF THE THEORY Humans are open to the whole energy system of the universe and constantly interacting with the energy. With this process of interaction humans are evolving their individual pattern of whole. According to Newman understanding the pattern is essential. The expanding consciousness is the pattern recognition. The manifestation of disease depends on the pattern of individual so the pathology of the diseases exists before the symptoms appear so removal of disease symptoms does not change the individual structure. Newman redefines Nursing the process of recognizing the individual in relation to environment and it is the process of understanding of consciousness. DESCRIPTION OF THE THEORY The nurse helps to understand people to use the power within to develop the higher level of consciousness, to realize the disease process, its recovery and prevention. Newman also explains the interrelatedness of time, space and movement. Time and space are the temporal pattern of the individual, both have complementary relationship. Humans are constantly changing through time and space and it shows unique pattern of reality. NURSING PARADIGMS HEALTH “Health and illness are synthesized as health - the fusion on one state of being (disease) with its opposite (non-disease) results in what can be regarded as health”. “Health is the pattern of the whole and wholeness” NURSING PARADIGMS NURSING Emphasizes the primacy of relationships as a focus of nursing, both nurse-client relationships and relationships within client’s lives. Nurses facilitates pattern recognition in clients by forming relationships with them and connecting with them in authentic ways. Nursing process is one of pattern recognition. Nurse in nurse client interaction is seen as caring presence  NURSING PARADIGMS PERSON (CLIENT, PATIENT, INDIVIDUAL, HUMAN) “The human is unitary, that is cannot be divided into parts, and is inseparable from the larger unitary field” “Persons as individuals, and human beings as a species are identified by their patterns of consciousness” “The person does not possess consciousness-the person is consciousness”. Persons are “centers of consciousness” within an overall pattern of expanding consciousness” Persons include family and community NURSING PARADIGMS ENVIRONMENT Environment is described as a “universe of open systems” Described as the larger whole, which contains the consciousness of the individual. Not explicitly defined. THEORETICAL ASSERTIONS There is an inverse relationship between space and time, so when a person’s life and space is decreased, by physical or social immobility, that person’s time is increased. Movement is a “means whereby space and time becomes reality. It is also a reflection of consciousness. Time is seen as function of movement, a measure of consciousness. PARALLEL BETWEEN NEWMAN’S THEORY OF EXPANDING CONSCIOUSNESS AND YOUNG’S STAGES OF HUMAN EVOLUTION. STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES STRENGTHS Can be applied in any setting “Generates caring interventions” STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES WEAKNESSES Abstract Multi-dimensional Qualitative Little discussion on environment CRITIQUE CLARITY Semantic clarity is evident in the definitions, descriptions, and dimensions of the concepts of the theory. SIMPLICITY The deeper meaning of the theory of health as expanding consciousness is complex. The theory as a whole must be understood, not just the isolated concepts. CRITIQUE GENERALITY The theory has been applied in several different cultures It is applicable across the spectrum of nursing care situations. EMPIRICAL PRECISION Quantitative methods are inadequate in capturing the dynamic, changing nature of this theory. DERIVABLE CONSEQUENCES Newman's theory provides an evolving guide for all health-related disciplines. CONCLUSION Newman's theory can be conceptualized as: A grand theory of nursing Humans can not be divided into parts Health is central to the theory and is seen “and is seen as a process of developing awareness of self and the environment” “Consciousness is a manifestation of an evolving pattern of person-environment interaction” PUBLICATIONS & REFERENCES 1.Newman, M. A. (1972). Nursing's theoretical evolution. Nursing Outlook, 20(5), 449-453. 2.Newman, M.A. (1979). Theory development in nursing. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis. 3.Newman, M. A. (1982). Time as an index of expanding consciousness with age. Nursing Research, 31(5), 290-293. 4.Newman, M. A. (1984). Nursing diagnosis: Looking at the whole. American Journal of Nursing, 84(12), 1496-1499. 5.Newman, M.A. (1986). Health as Expanding Consciousness. St. Louis: Mosby. 6.Newman, M. A. (1987). Aging as increasing complexity. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 13(9), 16-18. 7.Newman, M.A. (1990). Newman's theory of health as praxis. Nursing Science Quarterly, 3(1), 37-41 8.Newman, M. A. (1990). Toward an integrative model of professional practice. Journal of Professional Nursing, 6(3), 167-173. 9.Newman, M. A., Lamb, G. S., & Michaels, C. (1991). Nurse case management: The coming together of theory and practice. Nursing & Health Care, 12(8), 404-408.