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Joyce Travelbee Human-to-Human Relationship Model
Joyce Travelbee Human-to-Human Relationship Model
(1926–1973)
Human-to-Human Relationship Model
“A nurse does not only seek to alleviate physical pain or render physical care – she
ministers to the whole person. The existence of the suffering whether physical, mental
or spiritual is the proper concern of the nurse.”
- Joyce Travelbee
Life Story
A psychiatric nurse, educator and writer born in 1926.
Working Experiences:
Publications:
She started Doctoral program in Florida in 1973. Unfortunately, she was not able to
finish it because she died later that year. She passed away at the prime age of 47 after
a brief sickness.
Theoretical Sources
Nursing Metaparadigm
Person
- Person is defined as a human being.
- Both the nurse and the patient are human beings.
- A human being is a unique, irreplaceable individual who is in continuous process of
becoming, evolving and changing.
Health
- Health is subjective and objective.
- Subjective health—is an individually defined state of well-being in accord with self-
appraisal of physical-emotional-spiritual status.
- Objective health—is an absence of discernible disease, disability of defect as
measured by physical examination, laboratory tests and assessment by spiritual director
or psychological counselor.
Environment
- Environment is not clearly defined.
- She defined human conditions and life experiences encountered by all men as
sufferings, hope, pain and illness.
Illness – being unhealthy, but rather explored the human experience of illness
Hope – the desire to gain an end or accomplish a goal combined with some degree of
expectation that what is desired or sought is attainable
Nursing
- Nursing is an interpersonal process whereby the professional nurse practitioner
assists an individual, family or community to prevent or cope with experience or illness
and suffering, and if necessary to find meaning in these experiences.”
Logical Form
- An inductive theory that uses specific nursing situations to create general ideas.
Application
Practice:
Hospice – self-actualizing life experience. Assumption of the sick role. Meaning of life
and sickness and death.
Education:
Teaches nurses to understand the meaning of illness and suffering.
Research:
Applied in the theory of caring cancer patients.
Analysis
Clarity – is not consistent in clarity and origin.
1. Definition of terms came from dictionaries and books etc.
2. Used different terms for the same definition.
3. Focus more on adult individuals who are sick and the nurse’s role in helping them to
find meaning in their sickness and suffering.
4. Deals in families and their needs but not in the community
Generality – has wide scope of application but applicable only to those patients in
distress and life changing events.