Faye G. Abdellah – Pioneer of 21 Nursing Problems

 

FAYE G. ABDELLAH - 21 NURSING PROBLEMS

Faye Glenn Abdellah (born March 13, 1919) is a pioneer in nursing research. In 1974 she became the first nurse officer in the U.S. to receive the rank of a two-star rear admiral.[ Her research has helped to change the focus of nursing theory from a disease-centered to a patient-centered approach.

Abdellah is well known for her development of the “Twenty-One Nursing Problems Theory” that has interrelated the concepts of health, nursing problems, and problem-solving.

She views nursing as an art and a science that mold the attitude, intellectual competencies, and technical skills of the individual nurse into the desire and ability to help individuals cope with their health needs, whether they are ill or well.

She used Henderson’s 14 basic human needs and nursing research to establish the classification of nursing problems. Abdellah’s 21 Nursing Problems are the following:

    To maintain good hygiene and physical comfort
    To promote optimal activity: exercise, rest, sleep
    To promote safety through prevention of accident, injury, or other trauma and through prevention Cof the spread of infection
    To maintain good body mechanics and prevent and correct deformity
    To facilitate the maintenance of a supply of oxygen to all body cells
    To facilitate the maintenance of nutrition for all body cells
    To facilitate the maintenance of elimination
    To facilitate the maintenance of fluid and electrolyte balance
    To recognize the physiologic responses of the body to disease conditions—pathologic, physiologic, and compensatory
    To facilitate the maintenance of regulatory mechanisms and functions
    To facilitate the maintenance of sensory function
    To identify and accept positive and negative expressions, feelings, and reactions
    To identify and accept interrelatedness of emotions and organic illness
    To facilitate the maintenance of effective verbal and nonverbal communication
    To promote the development of productive interpersonal relationships
    To facilitate progress toward achievement and personal spiritual goals
    To create or maintain a therapeutic environment
   To facilitate awareness of self as an individual with varying physical, emotional, and developmental needs
    To accept the optimum possible goals in the light of limitations, physical and emotional
    To use community resources as an aid in resolving problems that arise from illness
    To understand the role of social problems as influencing factors in the cause of illness.

Awards and Honors
The National Women's Hall of Fame

The National Women’s Hall of Fame

Abdellah is recognized as a leader in the development of nursing research and nursing as a profession within the Public Health Service (PHS) and as an international expert on health problems. She was named a “living legend” by the American Academy of Nursing in 1994 and was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 2000 for a lifetime spent establishing and leading essential health care programs for the United States. In 2012, Abdellah was inducted into the American Nurses Association Hall of Fame for a lifetime of contributions to nursing.

Her contributions to nursing and public health have been recognized with almost 90 professional and academic honors, such as the Allied Signal Achievement Award for pioneering research in aging and Sigma Theta Tau’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Abdellah’s leadership, her publications, and her lifelong contributions have set a new standard for nursing and for health care. Her legacy of more than 60 years of extraordinary accomplishments lives on nationally and globally.