Unit : II

BASIC HUMAN
NEEDS
Mrs. D. Melba Sahaya Sweety, RN, RM
Ph.D Nursing , M.Sc Pediatric Nursing, B.Sc Nursing,
Associate Professor,
Enam medical College and Hospital,
Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh
 INTRODUCTION
• A traditional list of immediate "basic needs"
is food ,water, shelter and clothing. Many
modern lists emphasize the minimum level of
consumption of "basic needs" of not just food,
water, clothing and shelter, but
also sanitation, education, and healthcare.
• Basic human needs are what is essential for us to
survive, live and thrive. Our actions are
motivated by those needs and determine our
development. Thus, our basic needs are at the
base of human motivation.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF BASIC
HUMAN NEEDS

Basic needs are approximately same for all, Meeting those

needs is influenced by a person own culture .
 The importance of each need is different for each person
 People meet their needs relative to their own priorities.
 All the basic needs are interconnected and interactive.
Failure to meet needs leads to alteration in wellbeing or
illness
ABRAHAM MASLOW’S
HIERARCHY THEORY
 INTRODUCTION
Abraham Harold Maslow (April 1, 1908 – June 8, 1970) was an
American psychologist who was best known for creating Maslow's
hierarchy of needs, He first introduced the concept of a hierarchy of
needs in his 1943 paper, titled "A Theory of Human Motivation," and
again in his subsequent book, "Motivation and Personality." This
hierarchy suggests that people are motivated to fulfill basic needs
before moving on to other, more advanced needs.
As a humanist, Maslow believed that people have an
inborn desire to be self-actualized, that is, to be all they
can be. To achieve this ultimate goal, however, a number
of more basic needs must be met. This includes the need
for food, safety, love, and self-esteem.
MASLOW’S ASSUMPTION
 Human nature is basically good,
not evil
 Normal human development
involves the actualization of this
inherent goodness
 Psychopathology results from the
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Theory
• Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of
needs is one of the best-
known theories of motivation.
Maslow's theory states that our
actions are motivated by certain
physiological and psychological
needs that progress from basic to
complex.
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Theory
1. Physiological needs :
These are biological requirements for
human survival, e.g. air, food, drink,
shelter, clothing, warmth, sex, sleep.
If these needs are not satisfied the human
body cannot function optimally. Maslow
considered physiological needs the most
important as all the other needs become
secondary until these needs are met.
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Theory
2. Safety needs 
once an individual’s physiological needs are
satisfied, the needs for security and safety
become salient. People want to experience
order, predictability and control in their lives.
These needs can be fulfilled by the family
and society (e.g. police, schools, business and
medical care).
For example, emotional security, financial
security (e.g. employment, social welfare),
law and order, freedom from fear, social
stability, property, health and wellbeing (e.g.
safety against accidents and injury).
 Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Theory
3. Love and belongingness needs 
After physiological and safety needs have been
fulfilled, the third level of human needs is social and
involves feelings of belongingness. Belongingness,
refers to a human emotional need for interpersonal
relationships, affiliating, connectedness, and being part
of a group.
Examples of belongingness needs include friendship,
intimacy, trust, and acceptance, receiving and giving
affection, and love.
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Theory
4. Esteem needs 
The fourth level in Maslow’s hierarchy and include
self-worth, accomplishment and respect. Maslow
classified esteem needs into two categories:
(i) esteem for oneself (dignity, achievement,
mastery, independence) and
(ii) the desire for reputation or respect from others
(e.g., status, prestige).
Maslow indicated that the need for respect or
reputation is most important for children and
adolescents and precedes real self-esteem or dignity
 Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Theory
5. Self-actualization needs 
• It is the highest level in Maslow's hierarchy, and refer to the realization of a
person's potential, self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak
experiences.
• Maslow emphasizes need for self actualization is a healthy individual’s
prime motivation
• Self-actualization means actualizing one’s potential becoming all one is
capable of becoming
• Nobody can do everything, but we can nearly all do more than we think we
can
• Individuals may perceive or focus on this need very specifically. For example,
one individual may have a strong desire to become an ideal parent. In another,
the desire may be expressed economically, academically or athletically. For
others, it may be expressed creatively, in paintings, pictures, or inventions.
 Maslow’s Definition of a Self-actualized
Person
• Has no mental illness
The 17 Meta needs..... • Satisfied in basic needs
• Fully exploited talents
 Truth  Completion
 Goodness  Necessity • Motivated by values
 Beauty  Justice
 Wholeness  Order
 Dichotomy-  Simplicity
transcendence  Richness
 Aliveness  Effortlessness
 Uniqueness  Playfulness
 Perfection  Self-sufficiency
 Some Characteristics of
Self-actualizing persons

• Increased autonomy and resistance

• Superior perception of reality
• Increased acceptance of self, of
others, and of nature
• Increased spontaneity
• Increased detachment and desire
for privacy
• Greater freshness of appreciation
and richness of emotional reaction
to conformity
• Higher frequency of peak
experiences
• Increased identification with the
human species
• Improved interpersonal experiences
• More democratic character structure
• High levels of creativity
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Theory and Nursing
 VIRGINIA
HENDRESON’S
NURSING NEEDS
THEORY
 INTRODUCTION
Virginia Avenel Henderson (November 30, 1897 – March
19, 1996) was a nurse, theorist, and author known for her
Need Theory and nursing definition
Henderson is also known as “The First Lady of Nursing,”
“The Nightingale of Modern Nursing,” “Modern-Day
Mother of Nursing,” and “The 20th Century Florence
Nightingale.”
Virginia Henderson developed the Nursing Need Theory to
define the unique focus of nursing practice. The theory
focuses on the importance of increasing the patient’s
independence to hasten their progress in the hospital.
Henderson’s theory emphasizes the basic human needs and
how nurses can meet those needs.
 BIOGRAPHY
 Virginia Henderson was born on November 30, 1897 in
Kansas City, Missouri, and was the fifth of eight children in
her family.
 In 1921, Henderson graduated from the Army School of
Nursing at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C. In
1932, she earned her Bachelor's Degree and
 In 1934 earned her Master's Degree in Nursing Education,
from Teachers College at Columbia University.
 In 1939, she was the author of three editions of “Principles
and Practices of Nursing,” a widely used text. Her “Basic
Principles of Nursing,” published in 1966 and revised in
1972, has been published in 27 languages by the
International Council of Nurses.
 Henderson died on March 19, 1996.
 ASSUMPTIONS OF THE NEED THEORY

Virginia Henderson’s Need Theory assumptions are:

(1) Nurses care for patients until they can care for themselves once again.
Although not precisely explained,
(2) Patients desire to return to health.
(3) Nurses are willing to serve, and “nurses will devote themselves to the
patient day and night.”
(4) Henderson also believes that the “mind and body are inseparable and are
interrelated.”
 METAPARADIGM OF THE NEED THEORY

Human being or Individual : Henderson considers the biological, psychological,

sociological and spiritual components. The patient as an individual who requires
assistance to achieve health and independence or peaceful death. The mind and
the body are inseparable. The patient and his family are viewed as a unit.
Health:
• Although not explicitly defined in Henderson’s theory, health was taken to mean balance in
all realms of human life. It is equated with the independence or ability to perform activities
without aid in the 14 components or basic human needs.
• On the other hand, nurses are key persons in promoting health, preventing illness, and
curing. According to Henderson, good health is a challenge because it is affected by
numerous factors such as age, cultural background, emotional balance, and others.
 METAPARADIGM OF THE NEED THEORY

Environment: Although the Need Theory did not explicitly define the environment, Henderson stated
that maintaining a supportive environment conducive to health is one of her 14 activities for client assistance.
Henderson’s theory supports the private and public health sector’s tasks or agencies to keep people healthy.
She believes that society wants and expects the nurse’s act for individuals who cannot function
independently.

Nursing: In1966, Henderson ultimate statements in the definition of nursing were

published of her ideas it reads a s follows:
“The unique f u n c tio n of the nurse i s to a s si s t the in d iv id ua l (sick or well) in the
performance of those activities contributing to h e a l t h or its recovery (or p ea c e f u l death)
t h a t h e wo uld perform u n a i d e d i f h e h a d the n eces sar y strength, will or k n ow led g e .
A n d to do t h i s , in s u c h a w a y a s to help h i m gain ind epend ence a s r a pi dl y a s
possible.”
FU NDAMENTAL N E E D S O F
HUMAN A C C O R D I N G TO
VIRGINIA H E N D E R S O N
 STENGTH AND WEAKNESS OF
HENDERSON’S THEORY

Strengths
Virginia Henderson’s concept of nursing is widely accepted in
nursing practice today. Her theory and 14 components are
relatively simple, logical, and applied to individuals of all ages.
Weaknesses
There is an absence of a conceptual diagram that interconnects
Henderson’s theory’s 14 concepts and sub concepts. On
assisting the individual in the dying process, there is little
explanation of what the nurse does to provide “peaceful death.”
HENDERSON’S 14 NEEDS AS APPLIED
TO MASLOW’S HEIRARCHY OF NEEDS