How to Build a Program of Research From the Roy Adaptation Model of Nursing

The Roy adaptation model of nursing was created by Sister Callista Roy and serves as a method in nursing for researching man's response to his environment. Roy, a professor and nurse theorist at Boston College's nursing school, says humans can adapt to their environment, and that these changes can be influenced and monitored. A failure to adapt denotes a tendency toward illness, because adaptation is necessary for healthy living. Medical professionals can research human behavior, health and illness by controlling and observing stimuli and responses to them.

Instructions

• 1

  Researchers can select an undesirable health behavior as target for change.

  Conduct a first-level assessment of the behavior of a sample group of patients. This involves analyzing a particular behavior that the patients have in common and the researchers desire to change. This is usually a target behavior that the researchers identify as contributing to illness. The researchers define the behavior as it relates to the modes of adaptation that Roy outlines: self-concept, interdependence, physiologic and role function.

• 2

  Conduct a second-level assessment of the sample group. The researchers identify and analyze the factors that influence the target behavior. These factors may be currently influencing the patients, or they may be factors from the patients' past that continue to influence their behavior. The factors may also be environmental, social, conceptual or cognitive.

• 3

  Diagnose the patients. The clinicians must consider behavior and factors that may be influencing that behavior when making the diagnoses. The diagnoses serve as points of reference from which to compare future progress or lack of progress.

• 4

  The goal focuses on bringing about a positive health behavior.

  Set goals for the patients. The goals focus on changing an undesirable behavior or reinforcing a desirable one. This step is most effective if the patients contribute to the goal-setting. The goal may be different for each patient, with the ultimate goal being a positive change in behavior.

• 5

  Begin intervention. The researchers alter the stimulus that was identified as influencing a target behavior. They may lessen the stimulus to allow the patients to adapt more easily, thereby giving the patients positive reinforcement for changing the behavior. The patients may also receive extra support so that they are able to adapt to the initial stimulus.

• 6

  An intervention that brings about a healthy change is effective.

  Evaluate the patients to monitor any changes in behavior with regards to their reactions to the stimulus. The researchers compare the changes in behavior to the desired goal and analyze the effectiveness of the intervention. Ideally, the patients are able to adapt, increasing their tendency toward a healthier behavior. The intervention can be deemed effective in this case.