Hi everyone, my name is Azie Brown and today I'll be walking you through the Newman systems model, a holistic nursing theory developed by Betty Newman. This model offers a really structured way to view patients as whole systems and to understand how stress affects their health. Let's get into it. Betty Newman developed the Newman systems model in 1970 and it centered around holistic care and systems thinking. It focuses on how different aspects of a person's life like their physical health, emotional state, and social background all interact with stress. The goal is to help maintain or restore a person's stability using primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention. Betty Newman was born in 1924 in a small town called Marietta, Ohio, and sadly passed away just recently in 2022. She had an academic background in nursing, psychology, and public health, which definitely influenced her more holistic approach to patient care. In 1970, while working as a nursing educator, she introduced the Newman systems model, a theory that still shapes nursing practice and education today. Before becoming a theorist, Betty Newman actually had a pretty fascinating life. During World War II, she worked as an aircraft instrument technician. Not exactly your average nursing background. She also modeled in California and earned her pilot's license. Outside of nursing, she was a wife, mother, educator, and therapist. She started one of the first community mental health grad programs in LA and was among the first to pioneer the role of a nurse counselor in crisis centers. She also practiced Christian counseling and specialized in family therapy. Today, her theory is used around the world in both nursing education and clinical practice, which really shows how far her influence has reached. Betty Newman was incredibly well educated, which really reflects in the depth of her theory. She began her journey in nursing with a diploma in 1947 and from there went on to earn a bachelor's degree in public health and psychology and later a master's in mental health and public health consultation, both from UCLA. She also earned a doctorate in clinical psychology and was honored with multiple honorary doctorates later in her life. Her strong academic background gave her a solid foundation to bridge psychology, public health, and nursing, which you'll see really comes through in her systems model. Betty Newman had a dynamic and well-rounded nursing career. She started out working as a hospital nurse, later becoming a head nurse and a school nurse and eventually a clinical instructor, all while living in California. She taught at UCLA and played a major role in developing community mental health programs specifically for nursing students. Her desire to make nursing education more holistic and proactive led to the creation of the Newman systems model in 1970. She published several editions of her theory and traveled around the world sharing it with nurses and educators. And in 1988, she established the Newman systems model trustees group to ensure her work would continue impacting nursing even after her time. The Newman systems model is a patient- centered nursing theory developed by Betty Newman. It was designed to help nurses assess and respond to stressors that could impact a person's overall well-being. At its core, the model views each client as an open system, constantly interacting with both internal and external stressors. These can be anything from physical illness to emotional strain to changes in environment. The goal is to either maintain or restore stability through prevention-based care. Newman proposed three levels of prevention. Primary to reduce risk before symptoms occur, secondary to treat problems early, and tertiary to support recovery and prevent complications. What makes this model so comprehensive is that it considers five key variables that all influence health. physiological, psychological, socioultural, developmental, and spiritual. This lets nurses develop care plans that are individualized, proactive, and holistic, addressing the whole person, not just the disease. This slide breaks down the core building blocks of the Newman systems model. Let's start with the client system, which can be an individual, a family, or even a community viewed as a whole and dynamic system constantly interacting with its environment. These interactions involve stressors which can be internal, external, interpersonal or extrap. When these stressors threaten stability, the body activates defenses. Newman described three types of protective mechanisms. The normal line of defense represents the client's usual level of wellness. The flexible line of defense is a temporary outer buffer that shields the normal line from immediate stress. If those are penetrated, the lines of resistance kick in internally to protect the core structure. If the client's system is disrupted by a stressor, reconstitution is the process of returning to stability. This may bring the client back to their baseline or even to a stronger state. To guide this, nurses use prevention as intervention, which includes, as we talked about earlier, primary prevention before stressor exposure, secondary prevention during active stress response, and tertiary prevention after the response during recovery. Together, these core concepts allow nurses to assess where a client is on the wellness illness continuum and tailor their interventions accordingly. This slide brings us to how nurses apply Newman's theory to support client wellness across the continuum of care. The nurse plays a vital role as an agent of prevention and support, working to reduce or completely prevent stressors from disrupting the client's system. The model emphasizes a wellness in illness continuum meaning that health is not a fixed state but a fluid range and the goal is to help the client move towards greater wellness whenever possible. Nursing interventions are guided by three levels of prevention. As we know primary prevention happens before any symptoms appear. This could include things like health education, vaccinations, or stress management. All aimed at strengthening the client's defenses. Secondary prevention begins when a stressor has already broken through the flexible line of defense. The nurse's goal here is to reduce the impact and support early treatment or intervention. Tertiary prevention comes into play during recovery. The nurse works to support healing, restore function, and promote stability, essentially helping the client return to or improve their baseline wellness. These three levels allow nurses to intervene at multiple points depending on the client's situation, always with the goal of preserving or restoring system stability. How does a nurse actually apply the Newman systems model in their practice? Let's break it down step by step. You begin with a holistic assessment of the client's system using Newman's five variables: physiological, psychological, socioultural, developmental, and spiritual. Next, you identify both actual and potential stressors that could threaten the client's stability. Then, after that, evaluate the client's lines of defense and resistance. How well are they coping? Are their buffers strong, or are they starting to break down? From there, determine where they fall on the wellness illness continuum. Are they stable, at risk, or already symptomatic? Then after all that, select the most appropriate level of prevention, primary, secondary, or tertiary depending on their current state and needs. Based on all of this, you plan individualized interventions and continue to reassess as the client system responds. This approach keeps care focused, proactive, and personalized, which is exactly what Newman intended. I wanted to include this quote directly from our textbook from chapter 5 because it really captures the heart of the Newman systems model. It says the system model focuses on the response of the client system to actual or potential environmental stressors and on the use of several levels of nursing prevention intervention for attaining, retaining, and maintaining optimal client system wellness. So, this emphasizes how central stressor management and prevention-based care are in Newman's theory. It's not just about treating the illness, it's about protecting and supporting the whole system to stay well in the first place. This quote sums up how nurses aren't just responders, but proactive agents of wellness. This slide is extremely important because it really shows how the Newman systems model guides us in practice. We start with a holistic assessment looking at more than just vitals or symptoms. We consider the whole person, their body, mind, culture, life stage, and beliefs. Then we identify actual and potential stressors that could disrupt their health. Then we evaluate how strong their coping mechanisms or lines of defense really are. With that, we can plan care that fits them individually. Not just based on their diagnosis, but based on what will help them stay well, get better, or prevent setbacks. This model isn't limited to just one area of nursing. It's used in hospitals, psych units, community clinics, and long-term care. Wherever we practice, it reminds us to think ahead, involve the client, and focus on prevention just as much as treatment. Okay, so this is where the theory really comes to life. In the hospital, a med surgeon supplies the model by recognizing stressors like pain, anxiety, or infection risk and jumps in early with pain meds and emotional support. That secondary and tertiary prevention in action in community health, a public health nurse might roll out a flu vaccine program at local schools, a great example of primary prevention, strengthening the flexible lines of defense before illness hits. In the mental health unit, a psychiatric nurse helps patients recognize emotional stressors and builds coping skills, targeting psychological variables and restoring stability. And in long-term care, nurses assess for deeper needs like purpose and belonging. When we provide residents with personalized activities that nurture their development and spirituality, we reduce stress and boost quality of life. No matter the setting, the Newman systems model helps nurses care with intention. Not just reacting to illness, but preventing it and supporting the whole person. To wrap things up, the Newman systems model is all about seeing the patient as a whole. Not just treating symptoms, but understanding the full picture of what affects their health. It helps nurses stay one step ahead using prevention to protect the client's stability and support long-term wellness. Now, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Have you ever seen or used a prevention focused approach like this in your clinicals or job? And thinking about us as nurses, how might this model actually help reduce burnout while still supporting really strong patient- centered care? Thank you all so much for listening. I hope this helped you understand how the Newman systems model supports holistic nursing care. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them.