Meeting Basic Human Needs

Meeting Basic Human Needs Unit 9

Principles of Growth & Development • There is a continuous movement from simple to more complex • Development and growth move from head to feet and from torso to extremities • Each stage of development and growth has a specific set of tasks that the person must master before successfully moving to the next level • Progression moves forward in an orderly manner, but the rate varies for each person • Growth patterns progress at own rate

Stages of Growth & Development • Neonatal & Infant: birth to 2 years • Infant gradually learns to sit/crawl/stand/walk • Alertness increases • Teeth appear • Food intake progresses • Verbal skills begin to develop

Stages of Growth & Development • Toddler: ages 2-3 • Learns to control elimination • Begins awareness of right & wrong • React with frustration & negative responses • Tolerates brief periods of separation from mother • May want to play with other children

Stages of Growth & Development • Preschool: ages 3-5 years • Builds on motor & verbal skills already developed • Develops rivalries with siblings • Gradually increases cooperative play • Improves language skills • Develops more active imagination • Becomes more sexually curious

Stages of Growth & Development • School age: 6-12 years • Able to communicate • Develops more motor skills & increased sense of self • Establishes peer relationships • Reinforces proper social behavior through games • Chooses sex-differentiated friends

Stages of Growth & Development • Preadolescent: 12-14 years • Hormonal changes stimulate secondary sex characteristics • Mood swings & feelings of insecurity are common • Develops growing awareness of and interests in opposite sex

Stages of Growth & Development • Adolescent: 14-20 years • Gradual development of sexual maturity • Greater appreciation of the individual’s own identity • Conflicting desires for freedom & independence & the security of dependence • Establishes personal coping systems • Displays gradual success in mastering the developmental tasks of the age

Stages of Growth & Development • Early adulthood: 20-50 years • Independence & personal decision making • The choice of a mate • Establishment of career & family life • Optimal health • The choice of friends to form support group

Stages of Growth & Development • Middle age: 50-65 • Final career advancement, ending in retirement • Children who were raised during adulthood are leaving home • Health still at good level but shows some slowing down • Future is less certain with more time spent on leisure activities • Financial pressures may exist

Stages of Growth & Development • Later maturity: 65-75 years • Gradual loss of vitality and stamina • Physical changes signal aging process • Chronic conditions may develop & persist • Period of gradual losses of mate, friends and self-esteem • Some independence and depression

Stages of Growth & Development • Old age: 75 years + • Failing physical health and growing dependency • Realization of one’s own mortality through other losses

Basic Human Needs • Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: • Physiological: food, water, air, sleep & sex • Safety: security, stability, order, protection, freedom from fear and anxiety • Psychological: love, and to be loved; feel respect for self and others • Actualization: need for actualization through realizing individual potential to its fullest

Basic Human Needs • Meeting the patient’s physical needs: • Shelter • Oxygen • Food & nutrition • Rest & sleep • Elimination • Physical activity • Sexuality

Basic Human Needs • Meeting the patient’s emotional needs: • To feel love • To be loved and give love • To be treated with respect & dignity • To feel that their self-esteem is protected

Basic Human Needs • Meeting intimacy & sexuality needs: • All humans are sexual • Sexuality concerns the ability to develop relationships, to give of oneself to others, and to appreciate the giving of others • Intimacy is one aspect of sexuality; intimacy may be expressed in many different ways • Each intimate relationship has an element of commitment • Age, illness, and disability do not diminish this need

Basic Human Needs • Meeting the patient’s spiritual needs: • Remember that each patient has a right to believe in any faith system or to deny the existence of any beliefs • Listen to a patient’s thoughts and keep them confidential • The nursing assistant’s role is to reflect the patient’s ideas, not to try to convince the patient of your own

Basic Human Needs • Meeting the patient’s need for human touch: • This need should NEVER be overlooked • Nonsexual touching can include a friendly hug and smile, a pat on the shoulder, a clasp of the hand, a backrub

Basic Human Needs • Meeting the patient’s social needs: • Social needs and activities increase self-esteem and make one feel good as a person • All people have the need to understand others and be understood • In addition to verbal communication, we also communicate by the way we say words, tone of voice, facial expression, form of touch, way we stand, and unhurried approach

Basic Human Needs • Cultural influences: • Culture affects personality development and the way that individuals express their basic needs; the nursing assistant should consider the patient’s culture when providing care

Dealing With The Fearful Patient • Recognize this patient is a person with individual likes and dislikes • Give the quality of care that considers these likes and dislikes • Help the patient find ways to occupy all the empty time while hospitalized

Dealing With The Fearful Patient • Do not take negative remarks or refusals of care personally • Give the patient an opportunity to talk; assure the patient that you will not share the information with others • Explain the need for procedures and assist if help is needed • Respect the patient’s right to privacy at all times • Treat the patient courteously

Dealing With The Fearful Patient • Do not take negative remarks or refusals of care personally • Give the patient choices and allow him as much control over his care as possible • Respect and treat the patient as a unique individual

Dealing With Intimacy • Intimacy:a feeling of closeness with another human being • Intimacy may be shared between friends and lovers • Intimate relationships may be sexual in nature and expressed in different ways • In each intimate relationship, there is an element of commitment • It is important to recognize that not everyone has preference, opportunities, or moral standards

Dealing With Intimacy • Terms related to human sexual expression: • Heterosexuality – sexual attraction between opposite sexes • Homosexuality – sexual attraction between persons of the same sex • Bisexuality – sexual attraction to members of both sexes • Masturbation – self-stimulation for sexual pleasure

Dealing With Intimacy • Opportunities for patients to meet sexual and intimacy needs in a health care setting are not always easy; ways to assist the patients to meet these needs to include: • Not invading a patient’s privacy; always knock and wait before entering • Speak before opening curtains drawn around bed • Do not openly judge another’s behavior and preferences as wrong

Dealing With Intimacy • Do not discuss information about a patient’s sexual preferences • Provide privacy if a patient is masturbating • Discourage patients who make sexual advances toward you • Recognize the need for intimacy is a basic human need expressed in many forms

Discussion

End of Lecture

Meeting Basic Human Needs