Holistic Care
Assist. Lec. Selman Hussain
Holistic health is a term derived from the Greek word (holos)meaning
(whole).
Holistic health views the:
 health as " a state of complete physical , mental , and social wellbeing, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity "( WHO,
1994).

 holistic health care: is a comprehensive approach to health care.
 Holistic whole; includes :
 physical ,
 intellectual ,
 sociocultural,
 psychological, and
 spiritual aspects as an integrated whole.
These five aspects cannot be separated or isolated ; anything that affects one
aspect of a person's life also affect the other aspects.
The environment within which a person lives and the manner whereby the
person interacts with that environment are also considerations.
Nurses work with people throughout life to promote wellness and prevent
illness.
 Healing process that activates the individual's recovery forces from within;
to make whole.
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Healing is often different from curing.
Although curing is a disease may or may not be possible,
While, Healing is always possible.
 Homeostasis balance or equilibrium among the physiologic , psychological,
sociocultural , intellectual, and spiritual needs of the body; maintenance of
internal environment.
 The goal of holistic nursing is the " enhancement of healing the whole
person from birth to death".
 Wellness
 Wellness includes physical, intellectual, sociocultural, psychological,
and spiritual health
 Wellness is aspect of a person s life as an integrated
 Wellness: is a responsibility, choice, a lifestyle design that helps maintain
that highest potential for personal health.
 Wellness state of optimal health wherein an individual maximizes human
potential, moves toward integration of human functioning , has greater selfawareness and self-satisfaction, and takes responsibility for health.
Health continuum is a way to visualize the range of an individual's health , from
highest health potential to death.
a person at the highest level of wellness is one who demonstrate good physical
self-care, emotional well-being, creative expression, and positive relationships
with others.
death
critical
Illness
illness
Or poor
Health
mild
Illness
normal
Health
Health continuum
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good
Health
Highest
health
Potential
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Abraham Maslow developed a theory of behavioral motivation based on needs.
SelfActualization
self-steam
Love & Belonging
Needs
Safety and Security Needs
Physiological Needs
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs theory of behavioral motivation based on needs;
includes physiologic, safety and security, love and belonging, self-steam, and
self-actualization need.
Levels of hierarchy:
1- physiological needs. (needs of oxygen, water, food, elimination, rest(sleep)/
activity(exercise), and sex.
2- Safety and security needs. safety needs include both physical and emotional
aspect such as ( health, employment, safety, security, family)
 Illness is often a threat to safety because the stability of life is
disrupted.
3- love and Belonging needs. Include ( love, affection, intimacy, acceptance,
family, friendship)
 Having friends and participating with others in groups and
organizations are two ways to meet these needs.
 Meeting these needs is extremely important for mental health.
4- Self-Esteem needs. that include (confidence, respect, status, recognition,
competence, freedom).
self-esteem met by achieving success in work and other activities.
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5- Self-Actualization needs.(is the highest level of the Maslow hierarchy)
Potential, acceptance, morality, understanding, creativity, inner peace
 Maslow contends that because most people are so busy meeting the
physiological and safety and security needs, Little time or energy is left to
meet the love and belonging, self-esteem, and self-actualization needs.
 Most people are less than satisfied at higher levels of the hierarchy.
Providing quality care:
1- first step in providing quality client care is to be aware of yourself.
2- the next step is taking care of your own needs.
Self-Awareness: is consciously knowing how the self thinks, feel, believes, and
behaves at any specific time.
 Self-awareness is extremely important for nurses.
 Nurses must understand themselves so that their personal feelings, attitudes, and
needs do not interfere with providing quality client care.
 All decisions about client care must be made in response to the client's needs,
not the nurse's needs.
Development of self-concept:
 Self-concept is how a person thinks or feels about himself,
these come from the experiences the person has with others and reflect
how the person thinks others view him.
 Self-concept begins forming in infancy
 Experiences both positive and negative, influence a person's self-concept.
 Interactions with significant others, such as parents, extended family, and
friends, have great impact on self-concept.
 Self-concept develops through feedback from others.
 The nurse is responsible for providing feedback that will not negatively
affect the clients self-concept.
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Self-Care as a prerequisite to client care:
 The nurse helping clients how to recognize their own action can prevent
many of the conditions that cause illness.
Exp: choosing exercise regularly, to eat balanced diet, to eat breakfast each
day, to control fat content, and to select from basic food groups are good
rules for wellness, and choosing to not smoke, can help prevent many of
the condition that cause disease and death.
 The nurse emphasizing health promotion and client education.
 The nurse is not enough to tell a client what can be done to improve health, the
nurse must also be prepared to explain why.
 Components of self-awareness for a person
A. Physical wellness: refer to a healthy body functions at an optimal level.
 How to achieve physical wellness
1. Grooming: the nurse communicates a message of health and wellbeing by being clean and neatly dressed ( daily bath, use deodorant
form, hair clean, regular dental checkups, mouth care, dry skin, nail
not harbor dirt, jewelry can harbor bacteria).
2. Body Mechanics: using the body in the safest and most efficient way
to move or lift objects.
3. Posture: good posture means the ability to carry oneself well and in
correct body alignment.
- posture can also send messages about a person
4. Smoking: smoking contributes to many health hazards and illness.
- the Oder of smoke, on clothes or breath may participate allergic
reaction or lead felling of nausea in some clients.
5. Drugs and Alcohol: drug abuse has become so widespread within the
health professions.
- A nurse should never give or make a drug available to anyone
without written order of physician.
6. Nutrition: nurses must be able to think clearly and work efficiently
- A balance diets, includes fruits, vegetables, grain, cereals, milk
meat, and other protein food is required for optimal body function.
- avoid skipping meals, specially breakfast.
- drink plenty of water(proximately 60% of the adult body I water.
- Adult needs for 6-8 glasses.
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7. Sleep, Rest, Relaxation, And Exercise: wellness means taking time
to enjoy yourself. It means making time for sleep, rest, relaxation, and
exercise.
B- Intellectual Wellness: is the ability to function as independent person
capable of making decision based on the individual needs, clear thinking,
problem-solving skills, good judgments.
C- Sociocultural Wellness: is the ability to appreciate the needs of others and to
care about one's environment and the inhabitants of it.
-nurse will be care for clients of all age, race, who speak different languages and
come from various cultural groups.
D- Psychological Wellness:
- emotions are an integral part of the balance sought in life and are important
factors in the way a person relates to others, they are measures of inner
thoughts and feelings and are apparent in actions or behaviors.
- another aspect of emotional wellness is a positive attitude
- attitude is a felling about people, places, or things that is evident in the way
one behaves, it can be positive or negative.
E- Spiritual Wellness: it manifests as meaningful work, creative expression,
familiar rituals, religious practices.
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