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?

According to the Neuman Systems Model, Sally uses tertiary preventive measures. 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 is to not only help patients manage their conditions but also improve their quality of life. 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 assist Sam with his mental well-being by providing assistance and support, while also mitigating his symptoms.

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 has to be able to identify how any stressor could affect Sam and then intervene in a way that promotes wellness, restoring functional levels, and protecting him from future harm. 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 employs tertiary preventive care that focuses on rehabilitation care for mental health issues in her community setting. She also uses preventative measures that incorporate holistic approaches targeted towards individual needs. All of these are based on core nursing principles as outlined by Neuman Systems Model. Sally is able to provide the best quality care regardless of difficult circumstances such as limited or non-existent resources from external sources, like government agencies and insurance companies.