Meeting Basic Human Needs

1. Meeting Basic Human Needs Unit 9

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

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

13. 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

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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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

28. Discussion

29. End of Lecture