Concept Analysis Paper
The following is an outline delineating the steps of a concept analysis using Rodger’s Evolutionary Method:
A. Identify the concept and associated terms.
Concept: Chronic pain (non-cancerous pain in adults)
Associated terms: Chronic pain, persistent pain, intractable pain, and continuous pain.
B. Select an appropriate realm (setting) for data collection.
The realm for this study was nursing, psychology, and neurophysiology professional journal publications between the years 1979 and 2009. Included were case studies, qualitative and quantitative studies, review articles, and meta-analyses.
C. Identify the attributes of the concept and the contextual basis of the concept.
Attributes of chronic pain: their primary dimensions (physical, behavioral, and psychological).
Physical dimension is characterized by quantity, intensity (Level or severity), neurological transmission, and anatomic patterns of chronic pain.
Behavioral dimension is characterized by expressive, movement, and functional behaviors.
Psychological dimension is characterized by affective an evaluative components.
D. Specify the characteristics of the concept.
Characteristics of chronic pain include:
Relative language (i.e. “ache”) and modifiers (i.e. “annoying” or “dull”).
Behaviors- expressive behaviors (moaning and use of pain words); movement behaviors (grimacing, massaging, protective movements, rhythmic movements); functional behaviors (use of socially defined sick role behaviors such as decreased mobility, inactivity, and bed rest)
Time dimension- include onset and frequency or rhythm of pain episodes
Antecedents- No specific physical or psychological characteristics were noted that were antecedents or chronic pain. Although trauma sometimes precedes chronic pain, trauma is not necessary or sufficient to cause chronic pain. Chronic pain may be related to alterations in the production and regulation of cortisol, serotonin, and endogenous opioids and in the synthesis and release of sensory neuropeptides.
Consequences- Two themes: living with chronic pain results in alterations of psychological life patterns including depression, anger, anxiety, grief, hopelessness and helplessness; social pattern alterations may result in isolation and loneliness; there may be loss of work, and consequently, loss of insurance and money to pay for medical expenses; and coping with chronic pain- effective coping- decreases the adverse effects of chronic pain by reducing stress and thereby reducing pain intensity. Strategies include distraction, meditation, positive thinking, counseling, and use of alternative treatments (i.e. acupuncture, massage, herbal medications, meditation and imagery).
Sample Answer
Nursing practice is guided by various nursing concepts which relate to different complex dimensions of nursing as a practice discipline. A nursing concept is designed to guide and improve nursing practice to promote patients’ health and quality of life (Kitson, 2018). Thus, nurses utilize various nursing concepts to help them recognize their functions and responsibilities in the healthcare setting since it defines the nursing profession, the role of nurses, and why they perform them. Nursing concepts also serve as a foundation or scientific basis for nursing interventions and therefore provides nurses the knowledge base crucial for acting and responding appropriately in nursing care situations (Yip, 2021). Self-care is an example of nursing concepts utilized in nursing practice. It aims to improve an individual’s capability to meet his/her self-care needs (Younas, 2017). This paper aims to discuss how the nursing concept is relevant to nursing, its uses in the practice setting, and determine the concept’s attributes, antecedents, and consequences.
Uses of the Self care concept
This nursing concept was established as an element of Orem’s nursing model. The central idea of this concept is that all patients want to care for themselves and are also able to attain optimal health quickly and holistically by executing their self-care as much as they are able (Younas, 2017). Self-care has been present in the community even before the healthcare system was formally established. This concept has gained much attention because of the increased focus of improving need to manage chronic diseases. The concept of self-care is relevant in nursing practice. This concept is applied in multiple healthcare settings, including rehabilitation settings (Sasaki et al., 2021). This healthcare environment comprises patients with diverse self-care needs who are entitled to regain their independence or their ability to perform self-care after receiving necessary care from physicians and nurses. The self-care concept help guide nurses to help the patients to be more independent and get released from the healthcare organization where they are cared for to exercise their independence (Sasaki et al., 2021). Also, the self-care concept can be applied in the geriatric department to maintain the maximum amount of independence of the elderly. Independence declines with age (LeBlanc & Jacelon, 2018). As a result, older adults cannot perform their day-to-day duties without getting assistance from another person. This includes self-care activities like having a bath, making or preparing meals. Loss of independence undermines the quality of life among older adults. Geriatric nurses identify the self-care needs of their elderly patients and help them to maintain or improve their independence and quality of life using different ways, including educating them to equip them with the necessary knowledge or skills to perform their activities of daily living (LeBlanc & Jacelon, 2018).
Aims or purposes of analysis
Self-care is one of the significant concepts applied in nursing practice to provide care to patients with diverse health issues to improve their health, autonomy, and overall wellness. However, there are inconsistent descriptions of this nursing concept across disciplines. Therefore, this concept analysis aims to provide an in-depth analysis of this concept to provide clear definition of the elements of self-care concept and help clinicians and patients understand how they can use the concept to offer self-care.
Determine the concept’s defining attributes
Attributes are features that constantly appear when the concept is present (Martínez et al., 2021). Thus, they are critical attributes that form the concept. The defining attributes of the self-care concept include process. This entails the process of taking care of one’s self. This attribute is related to long-term personal benefits, including physical, psychological, and spiritual health. The second attribute is activity. In this nursing concept, activity means the process through which individual practices physical, professional, social, and emotional self-care activities to maintain health and quality of life (Martínez et al., 2021). The activities can be learned, performed by specific individuals, or directed by the situation. The third attribute of the model includes capability. This refers to the ability of the individual to perform the actions aimed at realizing universal needs, goals and addressing particular health issues (Martínez et al., 2021). The fourth attribute is education. Self-care education aims to provide patients/clients with the necessary information to increase their health literacy and capability to manage their health conditions. The fifth attribute is self-control. This is important in self-care since it allows the patient to realize the specified self-care goals (Martínez et al., 2021). The last attribute of this nursing concept is interacting. Social interaction is essential in achieving self-care goals.
