Peplau's Theory - A Nurse/Patient Collaboration
Published: 16 April 2018
Published: 16 April 2018
Fernandes and Naidu (2017) interestingly found in their study that Peplau’s Theory was able to encourage client engagement with self-care diabetes management.
Pre-intervention, the participants’ average fasting blood glucose levels (BGLs) were 124.5 mg/dl. Post-intervention the average BGLs were 115.8 mg/dl.
The theory relates to modern concepts such as motivational interviewing, client self-management, making informed decisions, and client engagement (D’Antionio, Beeber, Sills & Naegle, 2014).
This theory involves the healthcare professional working to understand their own behaviour, as well as that of their clients (Adams, 2017).
Adams (2017) explains the start of the nurse-client relationship (as per this theory) is at ‘orientation’. This is when the client exposes the issue that they are seeking the nurse’s support with.
‘Identification’ is the next stage of the nurse-client relationship in this theory, and it involves the nurse educating the client. This stage of the relationship sees a focus on building respect and working towards meeting the needs of the client (Adams, 2017).
The third phase of the nurse-client relationship in this theory is called ‘exploitation’. This stage is where the nurse aims for behaviour modification for the client. Ideally, the client’s behaviour change will help to meet their needs and the nurse will not be depended upon as heavily.
The final stage is ‘termination’ and, as the name suggests, this stage of the nurse-client relationship in Peplau’s Theory involves the client being able to self-manage their initial issue of concern. The nurse may evidently then release the client from their care (Adams, 2017).
The American Diabetes Association highlight the following activities to improve the care of people with diabetes:
(2015)
The Australian Diabetes Educators Association promote the following for self-management of diabetes:
(ADEA n.d.)
And, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners recommends that:
(RACGP n.d.)
Madeline Gilkes, CDE, RN, is a Fellow of the Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine. She focused her Master of Healthcare Leadership research project on health coaching for long-term weight loss in obese adults. Madeline has found a passion for preventative nursing. She has transitioned from leadership roles (CNS Gerontology & Education, Clinical Facilitator) in the acute/hospital setting to education management and primary healthcare. Madeline’s vision is to implement lifestyle medicine to prevent and treat chronic conditions. Her research proposal for her PhD involves Lifestyle Medicine for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Madeline is a Credentialled Diabetes Educator (CDE) and primarily works in the academic role of Head of Nursing. Madeline’s philosophy focuses on using humanistic management, adult learning theories/evidence and self-efficacy theories and interventions to promote positive learning environments. In addition to her Master of Healthcare Leadership, Madeline has a Graduate Certificate in Diabetes Education & Management, Graduate Certificate in Adult & Vocational Education, Graduate Certificate of Aged Care Nursing, and a Bachelor of Nursing. She is working towards her PhD. See Educator Profile