Helvie Energy Theory of Nursing and Health

Helvie Energy Theory of Nursing and Health

Introduction

Understanding the role of concept analysis in theory development is one of the most ambiguous issues in nursing. On the one hand, concepts are seen as the building blocks of theories so that analyzing them is one of the ways to generate new knowledge and develop new theories. On the other hand, it is claimed that concept analysis is of no use because it does not create knowledge that can evolve into a theory (Bergdahl & Berterö, 2016). Still, concept analyses are critical for nursing practice, as they significantly improve the quality of provided care due to the improved understanding of nursing theories and concepts so that they are the foundation of nurses’ personal growth (Bousso, Poles, & da Cruz, 2013).

Commonly, all nursing theories are based on four major concepts: human, health, nursing, and environment. However, concept analysis should focus on analyzing one concept only. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to pay specific attention to the concept of the environment, as viewed in the energy theory of health and nursing developed by Carl Helvie. The paper will include the following sections: definition and explanation of the nursing concept, literature review, defining attributes, antecedents and consequence, empirical referents, model case, alternative cases, and conclusion.

Definition and Explanation of the Nursing Concept

In general terms, the environment is a combination of all things that surround a person. At the same time, it may be supplemented by the changes in one’s mood and perception of the world that are individual for each human. From this perspective, the environment is the internal and external surroundings of an individual (Masters, 2015). The external environment stands for the physical objects surrounding a person and serving for their habitat, comfort, and other similar needs. As for the internal environment, it is associated with the personal development of an individual and the specificities of their characters (Maville & Huerta, 2013).

It means that there are such types of environments as social, spiritual, physical, cultural, psychological, etc. (Smith, Turkel, & Wolf, 2013). In addition to the abovementioned aspects of the concept, Helvie (1998) believes that the environment should be viewed within a broader context – from the perspective of a community, not an individual. It means that the environment is the combination of subsystems – both internal (health, education, recreation, and economy) and external (state, nation, and the global community) – that affect the development of an individual and their welfare (Helvie, 1998). From this perspective, the environment is a constantly evolving energy system that has a direct influence on people exposed to it and their health.

Literature Review

The concept of environment is a common issue that is focused on when assessing community health. However, as a system, it is usually perceived from different perspectives. One of the stances on the environment is developed by Helvie (1998), focusing on the environment as energy. Except for this position, there is a view that the environment is one of the areas of health. Supplemented with lifestyle, organization of the health care system, and human biology, the environment is among the major factors that determine the health potential of a human and predetermine risks of diseases (Kumar & Preetha, 2012). According to Patrick and Williams (2012), the environment is one of the health contexts. In this case, it includes both interpersonal and health care aspects that affect an individual’s wellbeing.

Another opinion about the environment is that expressed by Serrano-Sanchez, Lera-Navarro, Dorado-Garcia, Gonsalez-Henriquez, and Sanchis-Moysi (2012), who as well see it as a combination of internal and external developments that affect health and wellbeing of a person. In this way, there are two types of environment – cognitive and physical (Serrano-Sanchez et al., 2012).

Still, not all researchers support the existence of a cognitive or emotional environment. For instance, Bircher and Kuruvilla (2014) claim that only the physical environment should be focused on when assessing one’s health. In this case, an emphasis is made on external factors, such as biological, chemical, and physical. The same position is taken by Corsi et al. (2012). That being said, the concept of environment is a broad one. Because it incorporates numerous different elements, it can be viewed from different perspectives based on the objectives of a particular research and author’s worldview.

Defining Attributes

Attributes stand for the specific features of any concept. Because t