untitled

Conservation is the product of adaptation

and is a common principle underlying

many of the basic sciences. Conservation

is critical to understanding an essential

element of human life.

sciences. Conservation is critical to understanding
an essential element of human life:

Implicit in the knowledge of conservation is the fact

of wholeness, integrity, unity—all of the structures

that are being conserved...conservation ofthe in-

tegrity of the person is essential to ensuring health

and providing the strength to confront disability...

the importance of conservation in the treatment of

illness is precisely focused on the reclamation of

wholeness, of health....Every nursing act is dedi-

cated to the conservation, or “keeping together,” of

the wholeness of the individual. (Levine, 1991, p. 3)

Individuals are continuously defending their
wholeness to keep together the life system.
Individuals defend themselves in constant interac-
tion with their environment, choosing the most
economic, frugal, and energy-sparing options that
safeguard their integrity. Conservation seeks to
achieve a balance of energy supply and demand
that is within the unique biological capabilities of
the individual (Schaefer, 1991a).
Maintaining the proper balance involves the
nursing intervention coupled with the patient’s
participation to assure the activities are within the
safe limits of the patient’s ability to participate.
Although energy cannot be directly observed, the
consequences of energy exchanges are predictable,
recognizable, and manageable (Levine, 1973, 1991).

Wholeness

Wholenessis based on Erikson’s (1964) description
of wholeness as an open system: “Wholeness em-
phasizes a sound, organic, progressive mutuality
between diversified functions and parts within an
entirety, the boundaries of which are open and
fluid” (p. 63). Levine (1973) stated that “the un-
ceasing interaction of the individual organism with
its environment does represent an ‘open and fluid’
system, and a condition of health, wholeness, exists
when the interaction or constant adaptations to the
environment, permit ease—the assurance of in-
tegrity ... in all the dimensions of life” (p. 11). This
continuous dynamic, open interaction between the

internal and external environment provides the

basis for holistic thought, the view of the individual

as whole.

Health, Person, Environment, and Nursing

Healthand disease are patterns of adaptive change.

From a social perspective, health is the ability to

function in social roles. Health is culturally deter-

mined: “[I]t is not an entity, but rather a definition

imparted by the ethos and beliefs of the groups to

which the individual belongs” (personal communi-

cation, February 21, 1995). Health is an individual

Health is an individual response that may

change over time in response to new situa-

tions, new life challenges, and aging, or in

response to social, political, economic, and

spiritual factors. Health is implied to mean

unity and integrity.The goal of nursing is

to promote health.

response that may change over time in response to

new situations, new life challenges, and aging, or in

response to social, political, economic, and spiritual

factors. Health is implied to mean unity and in-

tegrity. The goal of nursing is to promote health.

Levine (1991) clarified what she meant by health as:

the avenue of return to the daily activities compro-

mised by ill health. It is not only the insult or the

injury that is repaired but the person himself or

herself.... It is not merely the healing of an afflicted

part. It is rather a return to self hood, where the en-

croachment of the disability can be set aside entirely,

and the individual is free to pursue once more his or

her own interests without constraint. (p. 4)

In all of life’s challenges, individuals will con-

stantly attempt to attain, retain, maintain, or pro-

tect their integrity (health, wholeness, and unity).

To Levine, the holistic person is a thinking being

who is aware of the past and oriented to the future.

The wholeness (integrity) of the individual de-

mands that the “individual life has meaning only in

the context of social life” (Levine, 1973, p. 17). The

person responds to change in an integrated, se-

quential, yet singular fashion while in constant in-

teraction with the environment. Levine (1996)

defined “the person” as a spiritual being, quoting

Genesis 1:27: “And God created man in his own

image, in the image of God created He him. Male

98 SECTION II Evolution of Nursing Theory: Essential Influences