Development of a Clinical Nursing Guide for Attending to Caregivers of Dementia Patients

Abstract

Health promotion and health education play an essential role in individual self-care, as recognized by U.S. nursing theoretician Virginia Henderson who posited that the nursing profession helps people—whether healthy or ill—carry out activities that contribute to their own health or recovery, gaining independence as soon as possible. A three-stage methodological study led to design of a practical guide for nursing personnel who care for the primary caregivers of patients with dementia in the Havana, Cuba municipality of Marianao. Of the 14 human needs described by Henderson, the study addressed five that were deemed relevant, based on the professional experience of the authors and according to these caregivers’ own expressions, as well as the possibility of carrying out related community work in health promotion. From 2014 to 2018, Henderson's human needs were contextualized and linked to health promotion and mental health actions in a primary health-care setting.