Sally, a nurse for community mental health is caring for 3 clients today. First, she meets Sam. Sam has been admitted to a psychiatric unit with a diagnosis of psychosis and schizophrenia. Sally provides Sam with appropriate interventions to help stabilize his condition, monitors his compliance with medication and conducts therapy sessions. Sally is using what level of prevention according to the Neuman Systems Model?

Sally practices tertiary preventing according to Neuman Systems Model. This level of prevention involves interventions that aim to reduce or eliminate symptoms and restore the client’s ability to function effectively in their environment. This level of prevention aims to improve the quality-of-life for patients as well as help them manage their illness. Sally’s approach with Sam includes providing appropriate interventions such as medication, therapy sessions, and monitoring his compliance with taking those medications correctly. She can stabilize Sam’s mental health by reducing symptoms, and offering support as he strives to improve his overall well-being.

The Neuman Systems Model is founded upon five primary principles: open systems, lines of defense/resistance/stressors, response/dynamic processes, reference points for wellness/illness states, and total person-environmental field interaction (Giger & Davidhizar 2019). Sally, in particular with Sam, must be able to recognize the impact of any stressor on his health and take appropriate action. She will also promote wellness by restoring functioning levels. She takes into account both the individual’s biophysical needs as well as social influences when planning strategies for intervention and making referrals if necessary. Furthermore her knowledge acquired from nursing practice combined with an understanding of each individual’s culture can provide additional insight into what type of treatments will be most effective for a particular client’s situation given their unique circumstances.

Sally is able to offer optimal care even in challenging situations due to limited resources, or the lack of them from outside sources (insurance companies, governmental agencies etc.).